Espanyol have appointed Eder Sarabia as their new head coach, with the 46-year-old signing a contract until 30 June 2028, the club announced on Wednesday.

Sarabia replaces Manolo González, who was sacked on Tuesday after Espanyol suffered a 4-3 extra-time Copa del Rey defeat to fourth-tier Sestao River. His first match in charge will be Friday’s game against Villarreal, with Espanyol sitting 18th in LaLiga after 10 matches, on eight points.

In its announcement, quoted by Get Spanish Football News, the club said: “RCD Espanyol de Barcelona has reached an agreement with Eder Sarabia to become the coach of the first team. The new white-and-blue coach signs until June 30, 2028.”

The appointment caps a whirlwind two days at the RCDE Stadium. González was dismissed on Tuesday, hours after the Sestao defeat, and former striker Sergio García was then named interim coach, taking his first training session with the senior squad at midday on Wednesday. Sarabia’s permanent appointment was confirmed later on Wednesday, so the interim spell ends before Friday’s match.

Sarabia arrives with recent LaLiga experience. He was most recently in charge of Elche, guiding them to promotion and then to survival in LaLiga across two seasons, Reuters reported. Before becoming a head coach in his own right, he spent seven months as assistant to Quique Setién at city rivals Barcelona in 2020 — a connection that adds an extra edge to his arrival at Espanyol.

He inherits a side in trouble. González left after more than three seasons and 107 matches in charge, having led Espanyol back to LaLiga through the play-offs in 2024 and kept them in the top flight last season. But his position had come under increasing scrutiny after a difficult second half of last season, when Espanyol endured an 18-match winless run spanning 143 days, and the side lost five of his final six games in charge.

The Sestao defeat was the club’s third straight early exit from the Copa del Rey. Sestao struck twice in extra time, with Jon Rojo scoring the winner in the 121st minute, and the result proved to be the final straw after a poor start to the league season, in which Espanyol have taken just one point from their last 15.

Friday’s match against Villarreal is therefore an immediate test, with Sarabia having very little time to work with his new squad before it. The deal runs until June 2028, giving him the rest of this season and two more to turn Espanyol around — but the first job is simply to steady a team sitting in the relegation places and lift them away from trouble, starting on Friday.