Jardim blunt on Almada at Flamengo, hails Arrascaeta; watch presser | OneFootball

Leonardo Jardim spoke for the first time about the possibility of signing Thiago Almada

The topic dominating Flamengo news in recent days is the signing of Thiago Almada. This Wednesday (22), after Flamengo’s 4-0 win over Chapecoense, coach Leonardo Jardim spoke about the possible signing of the Argentine in response to a question from journalist Leo José, from Coluna do Fla. The manager brushed off the topic in a good-humored tone.

— Regarding the transfer market, did you speak with Boto? Then you spoke with the right person. I’m not going to talk about players who are not ours. Ours are the ones currently wearing the Flamengo shirt. So, it’s not my way of working to talk about other players who are not ours — said Jardim at the press conference.

In the last few hours, Flamengo received Thiago Almada’s “yes.” Therefore, the 2022 world champion is just details away from reaching an agreement with Mengão. The Rubro-Negro club is expected to intensify talks this Thursday (23) to get the player as quickly as possible.

SO WHAT DID JARDIM SAY ABOUT ARRASCAETA, AFTER ALL?

If the signing goes through, Thiago Almada will also compete for a spot with Arrascaeta. The Rubro-Negro idol wore the Manto again after almost three months. After a fractured collarbone and a calf muscle injury, the star came on in the second half against Chapecoense. Leonardo Jardim praised the number 10.

— I’m going to repeat myself. As everyone knows, Arrasca is an important player for us, a player who needs match rhythm because he’s a player who improves; every year it has been more or less unanimous that he grows over the course of the season. I think this break was terrible because he was already on a great upward curve, especially in the last month before injuring his collarbone — commented Leonardo Jardim.

— And now our objective is to work with him and give him, as soon as possible, match rhythm without harming the team’s structure, since the team’s structure can never be harmed. But it is so that he can regain that form and, in the medium term, help us with all of his abilities — the coach concluded.

OTHER ANSWERS FROM LEONARDO JARDIM

THE MATCH

“It was a very well-controlled game in the first half. We suffered little and created chances to score two goals. In the second half, we scored the third goal and that ended up killing the game. With substitutions, we managed the game without much fatigue. In the end, we won well. Chapecoense had difficulties against us.”

PLATA

“Regarding Plata, he has a small knee problem, but I don’t think it’s anything serious. He already arrived from the national team with this situation. Today, we took the risk of using him from the start because we thought it wasn’t anything too serious, but he was in quite a lot of pain. Even knowing he would be important, the history of games after breaks was extremely negative. We didn’t want to take risks, whatever the result, because it was important for us to leave here with the win.”

LORRAN

“He is a boy with technical quality, but in terms of the game, there are things he still needs to improve. We have worked a lot on that. I’m pleased with him because of that. Not just because of the goal. I liked the ball recoveries, the defensive side, following the team’s strategy. He can only play for Flamengo when he understands the game and his role within the team. He had already scored in preseason, so I praised his behavior together with the team.”

MORE ABOUT ARRASCAETA

“As everyone knows, he is an important player for us and one who needs match rhythm. He is a player who has improved and, in recent years, it has been almost unanimous to vote him as the best player on the team. I think this break was terrible, because he was already showing great growth, especially in the last month before leaving. Now, our objective is to work with him and, whenever possible, give him some playing time without harming the team’s structure. The team’s structure can never be harmed so that he can regain that form and, in the medium term, help us with all of his abilities. That is the key thing.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.