Since the transfer market is closed, Athletic Bilbao offered to hold a press conference in Lezam this Monday to assess this. The president John Uriarte and General Manager of Football mIkel Gonzalez were required to provide mandatory clarifications related to template inputs and outputs Ernesto Valverde. Since it could not be otherwise, the name Aymeric Laporteas well as Hugo Guillamon.
Until the end for Laporta
He was undoubtedly the main character of the conference. The athletic club tried unsuccessfully and before the last blows of the market brought back Laporte, who eventually opted for Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nasr Sadio Mane. The President clearly stated that “if Al-Nasr had not appeared, Laporte would be with us today“He came to say. And he added:He always retained an interest in playing for Athletic again.. Relations with him have been maintained since his departure. They are very good. He is athletic. This summer we negotiated with him, but at the last minute he went to An-Nasr. It was Manchester City’s decision.
Although he assured that he would always be well received: “The doors of Athletic are open to the best players. Everything should work out with Laporte so that he can join the team in a few seasons.Mikel Gonzalez, for his part, like Laporte, commented: “The club made every possible effort to attract him. He knew how much effort Athletic was going to put into signing him.“.
Central “Champions” and other names
The CEO of Football also spoke about talks for another centre-back, but “he preferred to play champions“He said without revealing the name of the player in question. Hugo GuillamonA Valencia player linked to the club said: “There are a lot of rumors. We cannot give details, but it is true that we had two names for the central position. At Athletic it is difficult to be a central defender because of the style of play and the competition. Our job is to always in touch with agents to sign at Athletic. Enter philosophy, but nothing more“, accurate.
Finally, President John Uriarte spoke about the goals set for this season: “The most logical thing is to qualify for Europe. Last year we were very close and we need to correct this mistake. For us, this is a difficult goal. We have been involved in this process from board members to the club’s general manager, sporting director, team members… We are all in the same boat. To achieve these achievements, we need the support of the fans.” finished.