Espanyol ended the first leg of the season disappointed by the results and with a clear slogan: make several signings during the winter transfer window to strengthen a very short squad. In the traditional Christmas ceremony of the parakeet club with the press, the CEO, Mao Ye, advanced that the first to arrive, if the operation is not twisted in the next few hours, will be the Mexican César Montes.
"If it were closed we would have announced it. But we are in the fringes of the contracts. Let's hope it is the Christmas present for Espanyol. If it can be for Tió, better than for Christmas (...) If it can be tomorrow, better than next week", explained the blue and white president about the center-back, known as the puppy, who stood out as a starter in the three games for the Mexico team in the World Cup in Qatar.
Montes, a neat and tactically intelligent player, is only 25 years old but has already participated in 216 games in the First Division of his country, where he has played eight seasons with Rayados de Monterrey. He would be the fifth Mexican at Espanyol after Germán Villa, Paco Palencia, Héctor Moreno and Diego Reyes, as well as coach Javier Aguirre.
"We know what we need and we will do everything possible to meet expectations," Mao Ye continued about the requests for the next transfer window of the sports director, Domingo Catoira, and the coach, Diego Martínez. Despite having "the money just like all" the clubs, Espanyol hopes to strengthen the team with "quantity and quality" and for this they do not consider "a sale". "We will try to spend the best possible. It depends on how you distribute the money, how you optimize it," he added.
After the preparation stage in Murcia during the World Cup, which resulted in a defeat against Torino (0-1) and a draw against Mechelen (1-1), Espanyol returned to the competition with a long-suffering victory in the second round of the Copa del Rey against the modest Atlético Paso (0-1). The next game, already in the League, will require a greatly improved parakeet version. "The best way to end the year is by winning. We are prepared and ready to face the game," he said of the Barcelona derby against Barça at the Camp Nou on December 31.
"You have to be excited, but if you don't know the reality, the illusion can be negative. We have a team that does it well. We hope it will be reflected in the results soon. I hope it shows in the next game," said an optimistic Mao Ye Regarding the second part of the season, which should give birth to an improved Espanyol to avoid the feared relegation, from which they are now only separated by one point.
Parked the sports plan, he also valued the importance of the Espanyol Hub located on Balmes street in Barcelona, an "innovative", "multidisciplinary" and "dynamic" space inaugurated this Thursday and where the Christmas toast took place together with several illustrious members of the club like Raúl Tamudo, Rafa Marañón and Joan Capdevila.
"The second phase of the Hub aims to get closer to the new audience, such as gamers. Offer a different perspective. This center will be for parrots and those who don't know they are parrots yet," concluded the CEO, in addition to confirming the "changes in the stadium", among other aspects with new video scoreboards that reinforce "the long-term project" of the club to "continue advancing and building Espanyol".
