Pablo Longoria was at a press conference on Tuesday to present the new coach Marcelino to the press. The opportunity to take news of the negotiations around the extension of Alexis Sanchez.
Marcelino has been in Marseille since Monday evening and this Tuesday, the new OM coach was at a press conference alongside president Pablo Longoria and Javier Ribalta. After an hour of questions and answers between the new Marseille coach and the journalists, the floor was given to Pablo Longoria, who answered questions about the transfer window. Unsurprisingly, the president of Olympique de Marseille was immediately questioned about the future of Alexis Sanchez, at the end of his contract on June 30 and who is therefore currently free of any contract. If negotiations continue between the Chilean international and OM, nothing says that the discussions will lead to an extension as implied by Pablo Longoria, still very mysterious about the future of his star of 34 years.
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“Alexis Sanchez ended his contract on June 30. There are conversations with him, with the coach, we will all make decisions together during the transfer window between the club and the coach. Alexis Sanchez, we respect a lot what he has done for us, he deserves respect. But we must analyze the workforce well to know what we are going to do in the offensive sector, where everything has to be done to see how all the profiles can be complementary in order to adapt to the expectations of the coach. said Pablo Longoria, who decided not to go into the details of the negotiations and to leave everyone in the dark about the future of Alexis Sanchez. In the attacking sector, Vitinha is currently the only striker available to Marcelino. Asked about the Portuguese striker, Pablo Longoria closed the door on his departure this summer and instead wants to give him a lot of confidence.
Longoria very cash on the Vitinha case
“The case of Vitinha, I believe it is a case that deserves a lot of reflection. I consider that all young players need time to adapt and forwards need a lot of confidence. Vitinha is under a lot of pressure, like all attacking players who come to OM. There is the question of his price, which puts a lot of pressure on him. He arrived on the last day of the transfer window, at the last moment, with a workforce that was in a very positive dynamic at this time in January. Such a young striker needs time, it will be important for him to adapt to the new coach and to prepare well. Judge a young striker after six months at OM, I do not agree “ said the president of Marseille about the former striker of Braga.
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While the fans tense up at the absence of a rookie – apart from Geoffrey Kondogbia – one month before the Champions League play-off, Pablo Longoria wanted to be reassuring, as usual. Affirming that OM had a clear strategy during this transfer window, the Marseille president also explained that he was going to take risks financially in order to offer Marcelino a very competitive workforce. Something to remain optimistic for Olympian supporters. “I understand the concern of the supporters in front of the absence of recruits. We work hard with a lot of convictions, with a lot of strategy in the market. We want to recruit as soon as possible, we have clear objectives. But sometimes if you arrive too early on certain files, you make bad deals. The transfer window has its times, we have our times. We will try to make recruits as soon as possible but there is a clear strategy to follow, we have to wait for the right moment to make good operations on the transfer market. concluded Pablo Longoria. Suffice to say that like every summer, the transfer window will be long and lively on the side of the Vélodrome… to the delight of the supporters.
