The Club

CASTRO: “WE ARE WORKING ON ASSEMBLING A SEVILLA FC CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING INCREDIBLE THINGS"

28/06/2017

A comprehensive review from the President of potential first team arrivals and departures

Sevilla FC President José Castro faced the media this Wednesday following the presentation of the new season ticket campaign, which took place in screen 16 of the Nervión Plaza cinema. Here he gave a detailed review of all the latest nervionense news in terms of signings and potential departures, all in pursuit of “assembling the greatest Sevilla FC side in history, capable of achieving incredible things”.

"We want to bring in the best options available and Éver Banega is just that. His return is a statement of intent"

To this end, he insisted on several occasions that the plan is nothing other than to “bring in the best options. If we had been opting for our third or fourth choice, we would have already signed more than one player. But we are aiming for our first choice and we have plenty of time to continue pushing for these players”. And one of these very players is Éver Banega: “We are very pleased he is signing with us again. He played his best two seasons of football in Spain with us and we are happy that, around him, we have a good team. His return is a statement of intent”.

With the usual list of names brought out, the next to be thrust into the spotlight was that of Muriel: “He is another option”, affirmed José Castro, admitting that “we are interested in him, as we are in others. We are working”. The same can be said for the potential arrival of Nolito, on whom the President wished “to have news soon”.

When asked about Jovetic, the Club President declared that “we aren't ruling out a move for him. We made an offer which was initially turned down. But we will continue to try to ensure that he can keep playing here. You have to bear in mind that we are talking about a permanent transfer, and a hefty fee for the budget we are operating with, and with which we are also assessing other options”. Additionally, he asserted that what the club is looking for, in principle, is “a forward, although that doesn't mean things can't change, and we could sign two”.

"We have big ambitions in this sport and we will invest money in our game"

He confirmed that Sevilla FC remain “without news” on the subject of Jesús Navas, “we still haven't received a response to the offer we made, but it's a dream of ours and we will continue to push for his return”. Such a return would be in aid of putting together a squad which José Castro declared would “make supporters happy. We have big ambitions in this sport and we want to invest money in our game in order to achieve our objectives, to win the most games we can, and so that every sevillista can enjoy our team”.

The President compared these ambitions with the club's ongoing objectives: “Trying to improve is what we've done until now. It's difficult, but it's our challenge. This year we have the Champions League qualifier, so we will try to get through that, navigate the group stage, and go as far as we possibly can. And in such a difficult and competitive domestic league, finish as high as possible. Our ambitions are insatiable. However we have to be reasonable and recognise the budgets of other teams”.

"There will be no negotiations for Vitolo or Nzonzi, they will not leave for less than the amount in their respective buyout clauses"

On the matter of potential departures, Castro was emphatic when Vitolo and Nzonzi were mentioned: “We don't want either one of them to go. If a club wants to pay and the player wants to leave, there is nothing we can do. But I repeat, we will not negotiate, neither one will leave for less than the amount in their clause”, he insisted, after indicating that there had been no contact of any form from Chelsea or Juventus, seeking the players' services. At the same time he reiterated that Carriço y Davd Soria “are part of the squad” and denied that there had been “any offer today for Rami”.

To conclude, the President insisted on the idea that biometric access, a new stadium feature mentioned in Wednesday's presentation, would be a measure that “is gradually set up in all parts of the stadium. In fact, there are already ten stadiums in Spain which make use of it. It's true that it has first been installed in the Gol Norte section because this is where we have had the most fire-related issues, but from there it will be expanded to all other areas. As a matter of fact, the new season ticket holders will already have this access regardless of what section they are sat in”.