VÍCTOR ORTA: "WHEN YOU GET TO WORK ON THINGS, THEY COME OFF"

Víctor Orta spoke at Saúl Ñíguez's unveiling. Before taking questions from the media he personally thanked Saúl: "I would like to thank you because from that first conversation, you made us believe. Changes are always complicated, but we are going to try to make it as easy as possible. I would also like to thank the President, who always leads with ambition, between all of us we have managed to get you here and I wanted to thank you publicly." 

The press conference then began and Orta said of Saúl's arrival that, "We always said that our model was one of good footballers. Sometimes it is said that we go for younger players or more experienced players and Saúl is an extraordinary player. He has shown that in the elite, performing in a large number of games. When we were presented with the opportunity, at first we doubted whether it would be possible, but we worked on it together and here he is and he can bring us a lot on and off the pitch. The coach has also had an influence, we have to say that and we are very happy. When the puzzles start to come together it's a team effort." As for the arrival of the midfielder, he also wanted to highlight the efforts of the club: "We know the economic situation of the club and we have to look for solutions. There are people who don't put financial considerations first and Saúl's decision is one example. He has been fascinated by the top-level facilities, the work 20 years ago by a lot of people makes the club still attractive to come and play here today." 

"He wanted to feel motivated every day to play and Sevilla has that" 

He also thanked the player and his entourage, while focusing on the upcoming season: "When I was analysing and feeling what Saúl and his entourage wanted, on the first call I said 'please tell me that it can be possible'; and from the first day he was keen. It's complicated, but when you start working on things they happen. Let's think about this year. He has options to extend his loan which I'm sure is the best way to go into the future. If Saúl has a good season, it will be good for Sevilla. The better he does, the better the chance there will be for him to stay with us." And to finish on Saúl, he stressed that the player wanted a comeback: "Between all of us, we have explained to him what Sevilla is and what we were looking for. He wanted to feel motivated every day to play and Sevilla has that. It would have been easy for him to make a decision to join a weaker league, but he wants revenge and to get back that motivation for the game." 

Moving on to talk about other areas, Orta said of the departures that "the club has a plan for departures. We at the club are going to collaborate to try to make everything as easy as possible for all parties and that's what we're working on." And as for planning, without wanting to go into names, despite being asked about En-Nesyri -among others-, he pointed out that "the key is to look for balance, to look for the ambitious young players with the experience of others that will give us the balance. We always look for good players, regardless of age. Four key players have already arrived, which is important. We always have to be open to the market, but the truth is that we set ourselves the challenge of bringing in important players and we are very happy with that, which will help us to be better prepared for the start of the league." 

"The key is to look for ambitious young players with the experience of others that will give us balance"

The sporting director was also questioned about the first pre-season friendly: "We came up against an opponent who were physically very ahead of us and there were moments when they were superior, but we also were direct and looked forward. I'm sure we'll have time to work on the defensive side of things, hopefully, we'll find the formula soon." To close, he spoke about whether his image is ‘improved’ according to the media with signings such as Saúl, to which he replied, "I only think about Sevilla, my image is secondary. I only want to work for the good of Sevilla. I want to win and do my best to get results. I don't worry about myself, only about Sevilla."