Ernesto Valverde: “It is false that Athletic has something to do with the sanction against Osasuna”

MADRID, 11 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Athletic Club coach, Ernesto Valverde, commented on Tuesday that the Basque club has “nothing to say” about the exclusion of Osasuna from the Conference League, an issue that does not “concern” them, since it is “a problem”. of the Navarrese entity, for which reason he insisted that it is “absolutely false” that the rojiblancos have “something to do” with this matter.

“We have nothing to say about that issue, because it doesn’t concern us. It’s an Osasuna problem. They finished seventh and it’s up to them to play in the Conference League, and it’s absolutely false that we (Athletic) have something to do with it. “Having taken out, he wanted to predispose the Osasuna fans against us. We are focused on ours,” Ernesto Valverde said at a press conference.

An Athletic that is waiting for the final decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) on the sanction of the rojillo club, since it would be the Basques who would occupy that position. For Valverde, the rojiblancos have “two competitions” and they don’t think about anything else.

“Our objective is to beat Real Madrid and from there continue with the others”, he reiterated, before assessing the market, so far, for the club, with the midfielder Iñigo Ruíz de Galarreta as the only signing. “He’s a player who can help in midfield. He knows the trade and can contribute a lot to us. I had him here and when I was at Barcelona. He’s had very good seasons at Mallorca and we believe he can help us because he has technique and rhythm We will see if he has continuity and he can give us a hand because we expect a lot from him”, he pointed out.

The Basques returned to training last week without Ohian Sancet, Aitor Paredes and Julen Aguirrezabala, runners-up in Europe with the Spanish Under-21 team and who will join on the 29th. shape, although they will have to recover it soon, because LaLiga begins two weeks after returning,” he warned.

“In defense we have lost Iñigo (Martínez), and we will see how the market goes. We have players who can play there like Peru (Nolaskoain) or Beñat Prados. We are also waiting for Yeray to recover and Paredes to rejoin” , said a ‘Txingurri’ who does not consider the squad “closed”.