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“It is very important to pass. We want to finish in the top four in this tournament,” said Jorge Sampaoli, coach of a Sevilla team that lives on a volcano and is looking for balm in the cup to soften a very disappointing season. It will be in Pamplona and against Osasuna (22.00, TVE) in a decisive battle for the presence of the entity fighting on multiple fronts.
Sevilla won a very important game against Cádiz (1-0) in La Liga last Saturday, which got them out of the relegation zone. A duel that left very significant images and pointed directly to the sporting director Monchi. The Cadiz man is having a very tough season. The planning he has carried out is the worst he can remember in his long tenure in the Andalusian entity and the pressure he is subjected to is playing tricks on him. He came on at half-time against Cádiz and confronted referee Hernández Hernández with a disallowed goal for Lamela at the behest of VAR. The referee even recorded the behavior of Monchi, who, very angry, hit a bottle of water.
At the end of the game, a video uploaded to social networks showed Monchi crying inconsolably after Rakitic made it 1-0 after a last-minute penalty. Those who know the sporting director well point out that this could be his last season in a Seville which also features a power struggle between current president José Castro and an opposition led by José María del Nido.
However, Monchi, with almost no financial resources, is trying to repair what he organized over the summer. Players signed earlier in the season such as Isco and Dolberg have come out, the first after a struggle with Monchi himself. Central defender Badé and winger Ocampos have arrived. The Argentine is a very unique case. He was loaned out to Ajax and replaced by Januzaj. Now Sevilla are playing against him as he tries to place Januzaj himself. “Technically he’s very good but he doesn’t give me what I want from him,” said Sampaoli of the Belgium winger. Ocampos, meanwhile, arrives after being removed from Ajax’s first-team and training with his daughter. He played a few minutes against Cadiz without having played anything since last October 12.
They are the conditions of a very special market for Seville. If he signed Papu Gómez, Martial or Tecatito Corona for 15 million euros with his checkbook in the last two years, the current bets are much more discreet. Badé is a regular, having only played one game for Rennes since last summer. It arrived on loan with a non-mandatory purchase option.
a failed option
It was the same with the last footballer to land in the Andalusian capital. This is Reine-Adelaide, an attacking midfielder from Lyon, where he has made just 14 appearances this season. Sevilla agreed a €12m loan deal with Lyon with an option to buy. The medium arrived in the Andalusian capital, was received by Monchi and the medical tests revealed that it took him several weeks to get in shape. With a footballer suffering a double knee ligament tear, Sevilla did not sign him. He decided not to take any chances due to his lack of rhythm. Curiously, Sampaoli spoke about the footballer as if he were already in his squad. “Adeleide is a mixed midfielder with a new signing and she can help us. I know him from my stay in France and if he adapts it can be very useful for us in an area where we are very close,” he said.
Monchi’s French connection in this winter market could be completed with the departure of En-Nesyri to Nice who have made an offer of 20million for the striker. However, the Moroccan doesn’t want to leave Sevilla and the company are urging him to leave with inflated payrolls and a €25m loss from last year.
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