Corona: “Max Aarons is coming in with a lot of desire” | OneFootball

Sporting director Miguel Ángel Corona spoke at the presentation of Max Aarons, andanalysed the current situation at the club.

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“We have been suffering with the injury of Thierry for some time, and I take this opportunity to send him out best wishes. He is in a difficult recovery process and we show him all our affection at every opportunity we have. As a result of this loss we have been forced to reinforce at right back, as we also announced publicly. We are very happy with the signing of Max. He is a very balanced right back, with talent in both the defensive and offensive aspects. He comes from the Premier League, with the prestige that implies, in good form, free of injuries during the first part of the season. I am convinced, from what he has told me, that he is coming with a great desire to adapt quickly and to contribute. The staff will welcome him, with everyone speaking some English, and I am sure that he will adapt quickly in that sense - and that he will help us from Sunday onwards, since he is already registered.”

Sadiq

“We do not like to speak publicly about peculiarities or clauses in private contracts with players and other clubs. It would be information that would help our opponents on Sunday and, therefore, we prefer not to comment anything about it.”

The squad

“I fully trust in the squad we have. I do not want to repeat what I already said. The changes were Rafa for Roman, Luis for Peter, Enzo coming in, Cesar returning at a very high level, adding Dani in the forward line, reinforcing the goalkeeping position, and during the course of the summer we managed to keep Giorgi. It is obvious that, in terms of performance, we are not achieving the level we should. But I do not regret saying that we have a better squad than last season. All the players who gave us that great level now have 30-40 more games in the Primera Division. I have full confidence in them.”

Reinforcements

“The coach has stated on several occasions that he came to work with the squad that was there on December 31. What he has said, and I reaffirm it, is that until January 31 we will always work on improving the squad. We will try until the last day. That implies movements, with the 25 registrations occupied. We have received calls in the window asking about important players and we have not been open to negotiating. I am hopeful and I think it is possible to make some more reinforcements.”

Rafa Mir

“The roles are given by what happens on the pitch. I have not spoken with Sevilla FC.”

The first half of the season

“It is not positive. We believe that we can give much more. There have been circumstances that have marked the course of the season for us, but we are fully confident that we will get the performance that we have seen in these last two LALIGA matches and the Copa tie. The team are very committed to achieving the objective.”

Right backs

“Often, having time does not mean that things are easy. Not everything depends on us. In the case of the right back position, Max was playing on Saturday before reaching an agreement and we did it as quickly as possible. Loans are not easy, as the status of the teams you are negotiating with changes. We are very satisfied that on January 16 we found that solution and got a striker on January 3. When the window ends and we see the total number of signings in January, we will see Max's position. We have been quite fast.”

A veteran player in the midfield

“When we enter the transfer market it is to improve the squad. Experience is a characteristic that a player we might incorporate can provide, but we make an analysis of everything.”

Summer signings

“The fact that Rafa Mir's participation was limited in the first half of the season does not deserve any further explanation, from the point of view that on Matchday 4 we discovered that he had an injury. After that injury he suffered another muscle injury. He was an important signing. He has not had time to perform poorly because he has not been able to play. Regarding Dani Gómez, we were very clear and we added a complement in the forward line. It was an opportunity, having renewed our striker who was the top scorer and making the signing of Rafa. Dani has helped us a lot in this first half of the season. Regarding Germán, Fran Pérez had lumbar pain in April and by August 25 hadn't done almost a single training session. He was in a process of readaptation, with invasive treatments and with a lot of caution and fear about when he could join the group. So, we made a move with a Under-23 player who we can register in our reserve team and who can help us in the wing positions. Knowing what Caufriez's situation was like, we tried to take advantage of a market situation to keep our asset, which was Cenk, and hold his value, since he wasn't going to have a main role. Therefore, we were recognising that it was a signing of a player for rotations. We trust a lot in our three central defenders. We have had a satisfactory market within our possibilities. We can do much better, as that is always our ambition. We are self-critical and we know that we make mistakes.”

Fair Play

“There are certain circumstances and, since we want to improve the squad, we are making certain efforts. At the moment, we have room to manoeuvre in Financial Fair Play.”

Paulista's possible return

“Unfortunately, we did not have that as part of his agreement when he had to leave. If there is a departure, we will try to make the addition improve the team and we look, at that time, at the position to reinforce. In football there are things that can change.”