According to Diario Sport, Elche completed its squad reinforcements on September 2nd, bringing in four new players at the last minute to prepare for the 2026-2027 season under Martin Anselmi's management. The four players are Revivo, Ruben Sanchez, Lemar, and Lomonako, who have already considered themselves part of Elche and hope to help the team secure their first win of the season as soon as possible, ideally in Monday's fourth-round match against Real Sociedad.
However, the four players were in different forms at the beginning of the season. Two of them were in excellent form and fit the pace of the game at this point in the season; the other two spent the entire summer before leaving their original clubs, and the head coach hardly used them at all.
Israeli player Revevo played 7 official matches for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2026-2027 season, spread across 3 different competitions. He played 3 Europa League matches, 2 Europa League matches, and 2 domestic league matches, all of which he played the full 90 minutes, accumulating 630 minutes and contributing 1 goal and 4 assists.
Revivo is in excellent physical and mental condition, having taken a significant step in his career by moving from Israel to Spain. His father also made a rather unusual move to Celta Vigo. The only concerns about his immediate starting position are competition from Valera for the same spot and language barriers, but the club hopes these won't be a burden. Elche's most recent example is Affingruber.
Revivo is seen as a key investment for Elche's future. He will compete with Valera for a starting position, and Valera's contract expires at the end of next season, meaning he could potentially adapt to other positions within Anselmi's tactical system. At least against Real Sociedad, Revivo is expected to start on the bench and potentially make his debut in front of new fans.
Lomonaco is in a similar situation to the Israeli player. Since July 26, he has played seven matches for Independiente Rivadavia in the Argentine spring league, a club that has been in a long-term crisis and high-pressure environment. He has played the full 90 minutes in the last five rounds of the Argentine league, accumulating a total of 477 minutes of playing time.
His arrival should quickly alleviate the impact of Affingruber's absence. The question for Lomonako is how quickly he can adapt to the team after coming from the other side of the Atlantic. The club has great confidence in his ability and development trajectory. Theoretically, Anselmi should be able to establish him as a regular starter before the international break at the end of September.
In terms of form, the other two players who joined at the last minute are far less impressive, especially Lemar. The 30-year-old Frenchman won the World Cup with France in 2018. That summer, Atletico Madrid signed him for €72 million. However, he hasn't played a match since May 23rd, the game that helped Elche avoid relegation and sent their then-opponents to the Segunda División against Girona. He hasn't started since May 11th and hasn't played a full 90 minutes since January 31st.
Last season, he only played the full 90 minutes in one match. Elche's initial goal for Lemar was to help him regain his confidence and physical condition so he could adapt to Anselmi's playing style, which demands a lot from players during high-intensity periods. Lemar is far from being a veteran, and the offices at the Martinez-Valero stadium were particularly careful to ensure he felt at home as soon as he joined the team.
Finally, Ruben Sánchez has also yet to make an appearance this season, although he has maintained a fairly consistent playing time in recent seasons. He started four of Espanyol's last five matches at the end of last season, but this was still not enough to secure him a place in Manolo González's plans for this season. Throughout the summer, he was clear that his priority was to join Elche, which is why the process has been delayed until now.
Anselmi has several options for his position, but none of these solutions have met expectations so far, so Ruben Sanchez also has a chance to get more playing time in the short term. The four players who joined at the last minute are in different situations, but from the moment they signed, they all knew they wanted to help as quickly as possible. Therefore, Elche is likely to see more than one new signing make their debut against Real Sociedad.
