Manolo Gaspar, the Malaguista sporting director, appeared in the ‘Juan Cortés’ press room at La Rosaleda to talk about the recently completed summer transfer market.
First of all, he thanked “the hard work of José María Muñoz and the mayor” to increase the salary cap. “We carried out 22 operations, 13 new signings and nine departures, and we have invested 150,000 euros in the transfer of Fran Villalba. The economic balance is positive after 22 operations,” he explained. “We have spent 8.2 million euros on the first team, and there are about 500,000 euros remaining,” he said in relation to the total figures.
For Manolo Gaspar, “the squad can always be improved, but it is quite balanced, with the majority being versatile players, and also some from Academy.” He added that the formation of the team is “one hundred percent mine” and “the work model is the same since I joined, contrasting with the coaching staff, La Cueva and people from the Club.”
The sports director believes in the work of coach Guede. “I see Pablo capable of reversing the situation, one hundred percent,” he said. “None of us here thought we would have this start to the season, yet everyone thinks we can turn it around. Within the Club we have peace of mind, unity, there’s no doubt. The fans have to speak out, they’re still carrying the weight from last season. If we're going to self-destruct on matchday 4, I refuse. There are zero doubts within the Club,” he added.
He continued: “We have the obligation to turn this around, we have the raw material and what we see during the week has to be conveyed in matches.”
Returning to the transfer market, Manolo Gaspar acknowledged that “we were very pleased within the Club. We have managed to turn around the sensations of the city, which weren’t great. An excitement has been generated that was very difficult to do, and with this market it has been achieved. We’ll do a review in June,” he added.
He also referred to the change in trend, opting for owned players over those on loan from recent seasons. “Analysing previous squads, the circumstances forced you to make new teams every year. We tried to have a foundation with people with a contract so as not to go out to all the markets having to form a new team,” he stated.
Lastly, when asked about the team’s objective, he responded: “We’ve made a big effort and we need to be in the top part of the standings, in the fight, to get to April/May and be in with a chance with the top teams.”
