Signed by Southampton in 2015 from Málaga CF, Juanmi only lasted a year at St Mary’s.
The Premier League side made a loss on the transfer, buying him for £6.3m before selling him back to Spain, this time to Real Sociedad for £4.5m, who then offloaded him to Real Betis in 2019 for £7.2m.
He appears to be very happy in Seville these days, having scored 10 goals in 16 appearances under Manuel Pellegrini, which is 10 more goals than he managed at Southampton in 19 appearances.
He did get two assists during his time in England, but he is widely seen as a flop, and there have been questions as to whether he was even ready to swap Spanish football for the Premier League.
Juanmi, however, doesn’t think that way, speaking to El País about it on Friday.
He said: “I do not think my transfer to the Premier League was hasty. I think it was in a great moment, I had become a (Spain) international and it was a very attractive league, but I didn’t have the opportunities to develop my football. Then I spent three great years at Real Sociedad and now I am living a very beautiful stage at Betis”.
Whether he’ll ever get another Spain cap, picking up his only one in 2015, remains to be seen, but he’s certainly in one of the best forms of his career.
The rest is up to Luis Enrique.
