VÍCTOR ORTA: "WE MUST BE ALERT IN THE FINAL WEEK OF THE WINDOW"

Víctor Orta took time to analyse Sevilla's transfer activity during the presentation of Nyland and Lukébakio as Sevilla players. The sporting director, discussing both new signings, insisted the club "were clear they wanted someone stable in goal. Last year, the team had two starting goalkeepers, therefore we wanted to maintain this balance. [Nyland] distributes the ball well and had experience in the Champions League. RB Leipzig wanted him to renew and invited him to pre-season to convince him, but he wanted to leave. In the case of Lukébakio, he fits into our wide style of play, recovering the ball and creating space. He has great goal and assist numbers and an intriguing career so far. He was a talented youngster who quickly reached the top in England and then had to go to Germany to develop, where everyone spoke about his amazing ability. After debuting for the [Belgian] national team very young, he is now firmly establishing himself in the squad. He has speed, the ability to beat players and can create using a physicality that the team often demands. We also need to recover the ball more, and he can offer cover in these four different areas. That versatility will be a huge asset to our squad."

On the possibility of reinforcing at the back, Orta commented that "they all defend. It sounds like a cliché, but it's true. In solid teams that concede very few goals, all 11 players defend. I feel that there is little analysis focusing on defensive issues. Not just me, but all coaches and pundits know it. It is clear that we are worried about our defensive situation. We are working on the recovery of Nianzou and Marcao because in terms of numbers it is true that we have a lot of players, but in this final week of the market we are open to all kinds of situations that can improve the squad. It can be up top, in the middle or at the back. We've been able to register all the players, no issue. Including Lukébakio. We have made 10 acquisitions so far and we must be alert heading into this last week. We know the market, we know the players so whatever this week can give us in terms of entries and exits, we'll have to be prepared. Being decisive in these final days has always been part of the plan."

"We are working on the recovery of Nianzou and Marcao"

In terms of exits, Orta spoke about strikers: "There have been no official offers for En-Nesyri, as of today. Valencia speak about negotiations with Rafa Mir. We are evaluating the situation internally and, today, I tell you that Rafa is a Sevilla striker and I believe he will still be on September 2nd." Returning to Nyland, he assured that "there are economic constraints, it would be absurd not to acknowledge that. You say that there is a drop in quality, and you cannot deny the level of Bono, but you have to look at wider analysis. In most teams around the world, if you analyise the goalkeeper position, I think that having two experienced players gives you stability. It is a position where age is of little importance. Goalkeepers have arrived under very similar circumstances as our own and been incredibly successful. We have to trust in our recruitment process, considering lots of players until we find what we need. We evaluated our financial position as well as the state of the market, and the coaching staff have expressed great confidence in Dmitrović. We have here two players who give us the stability that a Champions League club needs."

On Montiel's exit, he recognised that "the decision to loan out Montiel has to do with the coaching staff's confidence in Juanlu. He proved himself in pre-season, after being loaned out then returning, which is a true credit to the club. Hopefully he continues developing and becomes an important player for us. He has received a call up to Spain's under-21 squad, so he is already at that level, and we are happy with how he is progressing. For me, it's a pleasant surprise because I didn't know much about him before so hopefully this is the start of another academy player succeeding in a Sevilla shirt. He also denied any potential exit of Papu Gómez: "He is with the group, training, searching for an opportunity and I think it is a clear situation where the player wants to do his best to let his coach know he can be relied on. There is no talk about an exit, he is in the squad and fighting for his place."

"Trabajamos activamente en la salida de Óscar, Idrissi y Januzaj"

On Óscar, Idrissi y Januzaj's departures: "I am not going to call them fringe players and have my words spun again, but we are actively working on exits for these three players, evaluating offers and hopefully we will soon have some good news where all parties will be able to reach an agreement. Another name mentioned was Kike Salas: "Situations with injuries are difficult to analyse. We will see what happens because he is improving and developing well, but there are players ahead of him in the pecking order. We will continue reassessing and see what happens in the market."

Finally, on Marcao's situation: "We could go into medical details but essentially we have a plan, which we have explained to the player, and have identified circumstances that are causing his issues so intend to resolve them. We are talking about sleep, rest, muscular issues.... He is a player for whom an effort was made, who is very well valued by the club, so must give his all. There are obstacles that only the medical team can deal with and we can only take the appropriate steps to ensuring the player is ready to train and play. I don't know if he is looking for a move away, but what we want is for him to recover and return to the field for Sevilla."