Garagarza We've got assets for the present, options for the future, stability on the sporting side & a strong market value
With the transfer window having closed, SD Eibar's director of football offered his assessment of the squad
Speaking at a press conference held to review the make-up of the squad, in the wake of the closure of the transfer window, SD Eibar's director of football, Fran Garagarza declared that the club has assets for the present, options for the future, stability on the sporting side and a strong market value.
Taking his place alongside Garagarza at the press conference was the club's technical secretary, Mikel Martija, whilst the other members of the technical team, Unai Ezkurra, Alberto González and Lluis Codina, were also in attendance.
The Armeros director of football opened his address by offering his thanks to the club's sporting committee and board for "their relaxed attitude and the trust that they've placed in us", in allowing the technical staff to build a squad without creating "any alarm or distress". Garagarza also sought to thank his team for "the hours and work put in".
In terms of the 23-man first-team squad, 10 new players have been recruited (30% less than last season) and three players loaned out, compared to six last term. A total of 16 players will still have time to run on their contracts at the end of the 2016/17 campaign.
Of the 10 new signings, nine of them have been brought in from other Spanish clubs, whilst all of them "are fluent in the language". Garagarza also sought to highlight that the club possesses a "greater knowledge" about the new recruits. As Garagarza revealed, "We'd seen Rubén Peña play 26 times live, Florian Lejeune 16 times and Nano on nine occasions. Time will tell whether they adapt and meet the targets". In Garagarza's view, the fact that the squad boasts two players in every position makes it a "well balanced" one, which affords José Luis Mendilibar the choice to operate with several different systems.
In reference to the closure of the window, he underlined that, "We'd set ourselves a target to have all of our signings done by 31 August, and we managed to achieve that". The club's last signing, that of Anaitz Arbilla, was made on 30 August.
"Yesterday was a quiet day. We received offers for Ander Capa and Sergi Enrich, but there were no negotiations because they're two important assets and they could only have left the club had their buyout clauses been met. We're very pleased that they haven't left. We were relaxed about it because it wasn't down to us".
Garagarza also offered his views on the current state of the transfer market: "The market has changed a lot in a short space of time. All of the clubs have had to spend money to sign players. Every club has a bigger budget and it's expensive to get the players you're after and there's a great deal of competition out there. There was a lot of competition for the players and a lot of work and negotiating went on. We're satisfied with the outcome".
In relation to the club's affiliated players, Garagarza stated that "we've stepped things up, both in terms of numbers and quality. We've now got 14 affiliated players at clubs competing in the Second Division, Second Division B and Third Division, compared to the three that we had last season. For the first time we've got three players out on loan at Second Division sides in Jordi Calavera, Unai Elgezabal and Pere Milla. This is something that sets a precedent for us".