Real Betis Sports Director, Eduardo Macià, spoke before the media during the presentation of the German player Heiko Westermann about the latest updates of the transfer market.

Westermann: “In the line with our sports planning, we have chosen Westermann because we think he will strengthen our defensive game. He is a very experienced player, 27 caps with Germany and 400 matches at the top level, in such teams as Schalke 04 and Hamburg SV, two of the biggest teams in Germany. He is efficient and clever on the pitch. He will fit in this Real Betis puzzle that we are building up and we hope will find stability in la Liga. We are quite pleased with his arrival. I would like to thank, once again, the Administration Board for their trust in the technical department. It has not been easy to bring him here; we have been working in the shade. It’s not about bringing any player available, but the player we think Real Betis needs. That’s why he’s here.”

Does Westermann closet he defensive line?: “With him and, if everything works out as planned, the arrival of Vargas, who just underwent the medical tests, we would close the defensive line. Then we need to decide which players are going to have continuity in this project. We’ll think about it in the next few days.”

Would the arrival of Westermann and Vargas make Jordi Figueras and Álex Martínez leave?: “It doesn’t have to be Jordi Figueras necessarily. We need to talk, the manager and I, to see what decision we make. It could be another player. What we decide will be thinking about the best for the upcoming season.”

And new attacking players?: “We are on it, in the same line we have been with Westermann and Vargas, and other players, too. We are trying to bring the best players possible within our possibilities. It isn’t easy, we need to work calmly but without pause. I hope I can answer that question in a few days.”

Is the target to bring quick and skillful players?: “We need to complete our attacking line. He needs to be quick, skillful, clever, with decision ability and clever. We don’t need just two attributes. He needs to be very balanced and complete player, so the manager can have options depending on the match and the moment. We’ll try to bring the best player that we can.”

Dani Ceballos: “We try to keep Dani Ceballos away from all the media pressure. We think he is a great player, but he is still young and needs to keep growing, so he needs to be at ease for this maturation process. We can’t be as demanding, media-wise, with Dani Ceballos as we could be, for example, with Westermann, who has played 400 matches at a top level. I believe that, as a Club, we need to take him out all this media pressure about his renewal and help him to grow and get better. We all think he is going to become a great footballer.”

Don’t you think this would be impossible if he does not renew?: “Yes, but we’ll try to help him as much as we can. He has great potential and we’d like his development stage to be as calm as possible. We don’t want Dani Ceballos as he is now, we want him to be much better. And we are sure he will be.”

Is there an option to replace him in the case he leaves?: “We never think in replacing one player by another, only in building up a group. Obviously, our plan is him to continue and be available for the manager. If he leaves, which I don’t think will happen, we wouldn’t replace Dani Ceballos but we’ll try to build up a better Real Betis Balompié.”

Experienced new players: “The foundation of that Valencia CF that won the league was made up by many players over 30 years-old. Nowadays, the career of a footballer is longer than it used to be. The personality of the player is crucial in this. There are players that retire being 30, others that stumble with pressure at 28 and others that being 36 are in the starting eleven of teams like Roma or Juventus. The mind of a plyer is really important. Westermann will be side by side with Pezzella, who has still long career in front of him. We need to look for the balance: the energy of the young and the experience of the veterans.”

Situation of Vadillo, Lolo Reyes and Kadir: “Right now I can talk about the left of Álex Martínez, that I think will be solved by tomorrow. We have also received offers for other players, but if they don’t like them, there’s nothing we can do. We have also received offers for players that we consider important in our project. We’ll keep working in this field.”