MONCHI: "WE HAVE OUR PLAN. THIS SQUAD WILL GROW AND IMPROVE"

Monchi spoke to the media this afternoon to assess the club's transfer window. He went into extreme detail about the market which closes tonight at midnight.

"There's time left and there's always a chance. If everything goes as expected, this will be our squad and we trust in it to reach our objectives."

"This squad will grow and improve over the weeks because some players arrived late and I'm sure as we get deeper into the season we'll see an improvement."

"I said at the start that this was the window I was going into most excited and I relied on that excitement to help me make those complicated calls that people might not understand."

"In the last two and a half years, as a result of the pandemic and the club being more ambitious and daring that at other times, we abandoned our traditional business model and took a risk to achieve more sporting success."

"We had to readjust finances in this market. We had some big outgoings and we've brought in new faces. It's hard to balance the books and improve the squad at the same time."

"To get our finances in check and have the best squad possible is not an easy task. It was a tough and complicated market and you can judge it in June. There's no point judging it now. This is football, not maths."

"We have one point from nine. I understand the criticism. But the pain will be worth it"

"The market goes crazy the last 10-15 days. I think the market ought to be closed when the season starts."

"We have followed our plan. I understand the criticisms with one point from nine but the pain is worth it because we did what we had to do"

"We received an offer for Ocampos at the start of the week. We exchanged 4-5 emails and we arrived to a deal that satisfied all parties."

"The player travelled to Amsterdam with the market closing and to our surprise, first his agent and then Ajax tell us that Ajax's board didn't accept the deal."

"It's the first time something that like has happened to me in 23 years. We tried to find a solution that would be good for all parties concerned."

"We restarted talks and they presented an offer that we deemed as acceptable as middle ground. The player and the club are as happy as you can be after a tough situation like that."

"Nianzou was our first option. We wanted to negotiate him down from 30 to 16 million"

"You could expect that Diego and Jules were going to leave. But there's no need to sign players in the first week. Marcão did come early but he then got his injury."

"Nianzou was our first option and we negotiated him down from 30 to 16 million. We used time as an advantage to find the right price."

"It's the same story with Isco and Januzaj. Why should I pay more? When the economic conditions were right, we made the move. Januzaj comes in after Tecatito's injury and Ocampos' departure. He has a lot to offer."

"Lopetegui and I are passionate. But we have not fallen out at all"

"I'm almost tired of speaking well of Lopetegui! I get on really well with him outside football. We're passionate men, but we have not fallen out at all."

"I've had many managers in my time here and I've worked with each and every one the exact same way. The manager says what profile of player they're looking for and we give them the names."

"When the manager and sporting director agree on the same name, that's a sign you're on the right page."

"When the results aren't going Julen's way is when we need to be closer than ever to him. That's the way we are here."

"Just cause you see a name in the press, that doesn't mean it's true. We did look at Boyé and we think Dolberg fits his profile. Julen wanted a striker and we agreed on the profile."

"I think Kasper is great. We were already looking at him in the January transfer window and when we saw the chance was there we went for him. I really like him personally and he fits with the profile that Lopetegui is looking for."