At the end of a busy transfer deadline day at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, our sporting director Edu spoke about his pride in the business the club completed this summer.
Beginning with making David Raya a permanent transfer back in early July, we then signed young goalkeeper Tommy Setford and defender Riccardo Calafiori, before bringing in Spain midfielder Mikel Merino earlier this week. The incomings were complete on transfer deadline day, when Neto arrived from Bournemouth, and Raheem Sterling joined from Chelsea, both on loan.
In the same window, Emile Smith Rowe, Aaron Ramsdale and Eddie Nketiah all left the club permanently, while several others have departed on loan.
Just after the window closed, Edu reflected on the window as a whole. Here’s the full transcript:
on our summer transfer business:
It’s the last day, the last minutes, so (it’s been) a long day, a long transfer window but in the end, I think we as a club have to be proud once again. The way we are working together, the way we did all the deals.
I think we are in a very good situation when see all the loan players in the right clubs. You see the signings we have like Riccardo and like Merino, so the players that we planned to sign, our targets, they are here. Also the players that we decided to sell, I think we sold them for the right price, to the right clubs, in the right way also which is important.
So today to be here on the last day of the transfer window, to get someone like Sterling, who I believe will be someone very important for the squad, who is going to give a lot to the team. So it’s a pleasure, and in the end everyone – not only me because there are a lot of people working here as well – but it’s a pleasure we are finishing the transfer window.
on what Raheem Sterling will bring to the squad:
To be fair we never planned really to sign him when we started the transfer window, just to be very transparent, for different reasons. But we always say to everyone that you have to be prepared for every single scenario. So when that opportunity came to me, and I checked the squad, I checked how he plays, and spoke to Mikel of course. I spoke to Tim [Lewis], our vice-chairman, to check if everyone is comfortable for the step we are going to take, and it makes a lot of sense.
It makes a lot of sense to have someone like him because I’m pretty sure he is going to add a lot in the squad. He has experience, he understands more than anyone the league, he’s played in the Champions League many times. He won the Premier League a few times as well, so I think he can add a lot to our squad and I feel really happy to see someone like him in our squad.
on Neto’s Premier League experience:
When you see the goalkeeper unit, we planned to have someone with experience there. Because if you see now David Raya is now our number one in that situation, Neto can come with that experience of the Premier League. He was the captain of Bournemouth and he has different experience outside of here as well, in the Champions League.
We have a third goalkeeper who’s come to the academy we’ve just bought [Tommy Setford]. So I think with the group of goalkeepers, to have David, to have someone with experience in front of the academy, makes a lot of sense as well. So we are so confident to have Neto here, I’ve known him quite well for a long time and he can add a lot to the squad.
on the players who have left:
We have to understand that we live in the football world, but also have to do business, we have to be clear here, and sometimes you have to sell players to make the business alive. We decided to make some decisions in terms of which players to sell and how we wanted to sell, which level of price we want to sell. I think we get what we expected, which is important for us.
I think we did it in the right way, which is also very important to us. And when you see the players going to clubs where they are comfortable and they are happy to go to. I think you can get all the elements and OK, I think we did the right thing for everyone. That’s making me feel really good.
When you see the loan players, for example Fabio Vieira going to Porto, you see Sambi Lokonga going to Sevilla, you see Nuno Tavares going to Lazio, you see Karl Hein going to Valladolid, so that’s the players I believe at the right club, for the right moment for their development as well. So that makes me feel happy as well, when they go on loan, they go to the right clubs for the right environment.
on being excited to watch the new signings:
I’m looking forward to that, because the way I see the squad right now, we are strong, I think we are very strong.
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