Cruz Azul will continue with their signings in the Draft that has started this Monday in Cancun, but they will focus on young players who can help them comply with the 20/11 Rule.
Ricardo Pelaez informed that the objective is to have people who can reinforce each line of the cement team in the Apertura 2018.
“What has been made official is completely official, there are still young players whose operation has not been completed, but we will register them in these days and more,”
“We are strengthening all the lines, it seems to me that the team is well-designed according to the tactical proposals that can be presented by visualizing scenarios. Normally, the coach has an idea, but it varies according to the circumstances. We have had long meetings with the coach, fortunately President Billy Álvarez has helped us with the signings,” he said.
He assured that there is still nothing official about the teams that have shown interest in the players on the transfer list, specifically the case of Felipe Mora and Carlos Fierro.
“I was more concerned about the income than the departures, now we are going to take that step. We will also consider the youth academy, of course, and try to have players from Cruz Azul debut in the short and medium term.
“Today we have a base of foreign players, which I find very interesting, and the rest are Mexicans. We have a squad of 23 or 24 players and I think we are going to be a competitive team,” he added.
Although he would have liked to have the complete squad from this Monday, when the players reported after the vacation, the executive commented that coach Pedro Caixinha will have a complete squad for the preseason.
“Pressure always exists in big teams like Cruz Azul, but as we said, the idea is to have the reinforcements for these dates. Unfortunately, Igor is on national team duty, he will arrive on the 18th. Roberto Alvarado is playing in Toulon, he will arrive on the 15th or 16th. I think we are doing it on time and in the right way so that everyone starts the preseason that we have planned and there are no excuses. The team has to qualify as a permanent objective and then fight for the title,” he pointed out.
He ruled out striker Ismael Sosa but revealed that he still needs to sign two foreign players, as five foreigners will leave. The goal is to reach nine elements.
Therefore, Martín Cauteruccio, Walter Montoya, Ángel Mena, and Édgar Méndez will stay, in addition to the arrivals of Lichnovsky, Milton Caraglio, and Iván Marcone, as well as the naturalized player Pablo Aguilar.