If you really need to play Escobar (I would in your situation), either play him as the ST or instead of the MR in the AMR position, but with a Blue (defensive) arrow so he keeps an eye on the opposition ML. If anything, it will keep the opposing manager wondering what you're up to.
I used to keep the last year contract players hanging on renewing their contracts until the 3rd day of the following season (bearing in mind that I couldn't play them in the first two Cup matches) and it didn't affect their performance. It seems that Nordeus have put in a change that now affects their performance - last year's resurgence for Casuals was the first time for quite a while I've renewed the contracts at the start of the season (as an experiment) instead of letting them hang on. This season did the same and both Casuals and Terriers are playing the same as Casuals did last season.