Keita Baldé was 16 years old when he left Barcelona. Barça had loaned him to Cornellà for bad behavior. Even then he was a rebellious child. That young adventurer went to Lazio. There he triumphed and later began a journey through a lot of teams until he landed again in Cornellà, but this time at Espanyol.
“I am very happy to be here, to help Espanyol. I wanted to go home and be with my people, ”he said in the presentation of the winger that he can also play as an offensive reference. “It is a feeling of my family. I left here at the age of 16 and I never had a concrete chance to return. I had it this year and took advantage of it. Now we have to think about the field and play football. To fight to achieve the objective we want”, assured the striker of Senegalese origin.
He has only been at the club for a week, to which he arrives on loan with a purchase option, but Baldé is clear that he wants to stay at the club for a long time. “I will do everything possible to stay. Espanyol is a First Division club and this will be temporary. I've come here because I think it's where I can find my best version, it's a project for me and I hope to achieve perfect stability here”.
Baldé arrived at the club after an express negotiation in which he did his part to be able to dress in blue and white. “Negotiations are never easy. We started a week or week and a half ago. Espanyol wanted to and I even more. My only goal was to come here. Many great things can be done, ”he wished.
Along with him was presented Ramón Ramos, a Brazilian left-back who also arrives on loan but without a purchase option. In his debut against Amorebieta he made a fantastic impression, something that also surprised him. “I saw the heat of the fans up close, I know they were chanting my name and it did surprise me. But I want to keep working." Also in the case of Ramos it was his interest in wearing the shirt that led him to Espanyol. “When I found out about the club's interest, I jumped up and told my agent when I'm going there. Last year I asked Vini and he told me that it was a great club. Everyone speaks and speaks highly of Espanyol, ”he assured.
After them, Fran Garagarza took stock of the transfer market, in which Espanyol entered more than 35 million in six sales: César Montes (14), Darder (8), Simo Keddari (4.5), Luca Koleosho (3) , Vilhena (3), Víctor Gómez (2), Dimata (1.5) and signed four players for just over three million, two of them owned, Pere Milla (2.5) and Salvi (700,000).
The sports director said he was "satisfied" after a "demanding, long and satisfactory" market. “We believe that we have everything necessary to achieve the objective. We are proud of the staff and their involvement. We have achieved what we set out to do from day one. But the notes are for June”. Finally, regarding the possible interest in finalizing the incorporation of Álvaro Aguado, a midfielder who is free, Garazarza did not deny that possibility, although he made it clear that there were no "profiles to reinforce."
