Following the end of the transfer window, Real Oviedo Director of Football Francesc Arnau has appeared in the Press Room at the NMR Carlos Tartiere to give his assessment of the market.

Before responding to the questions put to him by the media, Francesc Arnau began by giving thanks to a series of people "in such a strange market." "Firstly, I would like to thank Grupo Carso for their backing. They have been in contact with us and they gave us their confidence so that we could carry out the actions which we have done. I would also like to thank Manolo, Fernando and César for their help, as well as the departments that have collaborated with me in this tough market. I also want to thank the club, headed up by David Mata, for allowing us to keep and use the money raised."

The Director of Football then analysed the different deals carried out during this summer window. "We have tried to do some restructuring to adapt to the matter of Covid-19. One part of this was the academy, which understood the club's needs and supported us. We have held onto the young, valuable players at the club, maintained the B team's competitive level, and prioritised a focus on homegrown talents. In addition, I want to thank Arribas, Tejera, Mossa, Grippo, Rodri, Carlos and Sangalli for restructuring their wages, which has helped us to maintain our economic strength."

In addition, Francesc Arnau commented that "we have acted in four major positions. We opted for young players in goal. I would like to congratulate them both for their performances, and I am sure that there will be a good type of competition between them and that they will give us solidity. In the midfield we have Edgar, who has come in to replace Luismi, and also Aburjania, who still has to adapt. On the wings we have Nahuel, who came here with a big future, and we are going to get him back to his best. Cedric is a player for the future with a lot of hunger and we hope that he can give us a lot. Up front, we wanted to have four forwards. Mujica signed to play with Obeng and Rodri, and eventually, after a big financial effort, Blanco arrived, and he is going to give us experience and goals. We have six loanees, which is two more than last season. I would also highlight Borja, Jimmy and Lucas, who have solidified themselves in the first team. You've also then got Viti and Riki with the first team, and the Miers too. We have experience, youth, and homegrown players."

Later, when answering questions from members of the Press, the Catalan admitted that in the final hours of the window "we encountered a lot of difficulties in the market. Our intention was to make one more signing who could contribute, but we couldn't find one. We weren't going to do something just to fill a spot. We wanted to get someone important. We have decided that Diegui will stay. We have a deep squad."

Asked what the club's objective is, the Director of Football highlighted that "I'm going to continue to avoid saying it. We have to earn our objective through day-to-day work. You don't earn objectives now, but if you want to fight for big prizes you have to do so throughout the year. We have to go out to compete in each match, have ambition, and then later on we will see where we are."

Asked about the possibility which had existed of Yoel Bárcenas and Saúl Berjón remaining at the club, Arnau commented that "we tried to do another year's loan (for Yoel). He wanted to end his deal in Mexico, and that's what we prepared for. But we couldn't reach an agreement with him, nor with his agents. We waited up to a point, but we couldn't leave it any longer. You will have to ask him his reasons for not accepting Real Oviedo's offer. Yoel didn't want to sign for Real Oviedo. With respect to Saúl, the squad now is what it is and I'm not going to stop to think about it. We had a chance to reach an agreement with Saúl, but it didn't happen. I respect him and wish him the best of luck at his new club."

Regarding the offers received and the margin in the salary cap, Francesc Arnau stated that "some players had options, but no official offers. Carlos Hernández had an offer to leave, but we decided he should stay. We have margin still, but there was no game-changing player that we could bring in. We decided it was better to save it and wait to see what happens."

Asked about the homegrown players who are involved with the first team, the  Catalan highlighted that "they are on the same wave length and doing well.

Some are now fully-fledged first-team players, and others are getting there. I hope they have the performances and quality to stand up to the competitive pace for a long time. We want to have Real Oviedo players here, who have spent many years at the club."

Ahead of Sunday's clash with Sporting, the Director of Football hopes that "the team goes out to compete as we have been doing in the previous matches. We are in a special week for the city. We have to go out to win, but doing things well. They are ahead of us in the table, but that doesn't matter in a derby. I have blind faith in this team, we are going to stand up to them."

Finally, asked for his level of satisfaction with the market, Arnau reasoned that "it's never done. It's ideal and now it's time to work and help the squad. Now is the time to back the squad and the Coach, as he is the captain of the ship and I have complete faith in him."