Collecchio, 9 July 2024 – This is what sporting director Mauro Pederzoli had to say as Emanuele Valeri was introduced as a new Gialloblu player for the 2024/25 season.

EMANUELE VALERI

“We’re presenting our first signing of the season and are delighted to have him here after trying to bring him in for a long time. He’s been a preferred target for a while now, at least since I’ve been here. Until now, it hasn’t been possible for him to come here, but when the opportunity arose to get into contact with him this year, we didn’t hesitate. He’s a player who is ready to give absolutely everything; he’s reached an important moment of his career and will be a really useful player for us. He knows Serie A and our coach and has already integrated well. It’s very satisfying to be here today.”

CONSIDERED CHOICES

“I’m happy to be able to present our first signing this summer, but I’m hearing some people say that we’ve only made one purchase so far. However, when it comes to the transfer market, quality comes first, and we don’t want to be hasty. We’re making a decision to build on a group that has certain technical and human values and has been on a shared journey together. These are vital values. We’ll add to the group with great care and patience. On the one hand, the long transfer window is a bad thing, but we should view it as an opportunity. The fact it’s open for so long will allow us to choose more carefully what to do, and, as time passes, we can achieve certain objectives that didn’t seem possible at first. This is the situation and, in Fabio, we have a coach capable of making the most of the depth of the squad.”

DENNIS MAN’S RENEWAL

“We’re close to reaching an agreement, but he’s been away at the Euros and is now enjoying some deserved time off. We’re optimistic. Beyond new signings, renewals are, in general, an important part of our transfer market activities this year. We have to convince in these talks, and getting renewals over the line is certainly an objective of ours as we look to build on much of last season’s squad.”

ATTACK AND DEFENCE

“We will certainly intervene in attack, finding a player who will be helpful in terms of how our coach wants to play. In defence, we have versatile players who can occupy multiple roles. I’m not saying that we won’t bring in players for that area of the pitch, but we’ll see what arises in the transfer market; surprises can’t be excluded. We’re delighted with what Osorio is doing for Venezuela, and he looks in amazing shape. We’ll be eagerly awaiting his return from his holidays.”

NAMES

“We know the rules of the game well; I’m not going to get involved with names. As regards Suzuki, in relation to his age, he is a top goalkeeper. He’s outstanding on a technical level and held in high esteem in Europe and beyond. It’s not right to talk about others; they’re not our players and are not very close to joining us either. It doesn’t make sense to mention other names. As regards our goalkeepers, one will stay with us. In Rinaldi, Corvi and Turk, we have three young goalkeepers. They’re all good and promising players who need to put their foot on the accelerator at this stage of their careers. We’ll have to find a solution where they’ll be able to express themselves and grow, combining this with a potential return to Parma.”

PROBABLE DEPARTURES

“We’re lucky that we don’t have a huge squad. We’re not offering our players out to anyone. We have many young interesting prospects in whom there’s interest from across Europe. Our intention is to keep them with us. As regards our more experienced players, we haven’t received requests. We’re here and will listen, but we’re not fretting because we have important players who helped us achieve promotion to Serie A. And they’re part of a squad that isn’t bloated. We’re not in a position where we have to let anyone go.”