Dévy Rigaux is pleased that, apart from Ayase Ueda’s departure, he has managed to keep all of Feyenoord’s key players. According to the Rotterdam club’s technical director, this was his most important task, given the club’s limited financial resources. With this squad, Feyenoord must first close the gap on PSV. “We’ve never spoken openly about the title.” Rigaux was aware of Feyenoord’s financial situation before he signed a contract with the club. “You then have two options. Either you sell your key players and bring in a lot of money, but then you have to build a team from scratch. Or you try to keep your key players here for as long as possible. Then you’re operating from a position of strength. That provides a certain stability. That’s why I chose, first and foremost, to fight to keep the lads at De Kuip.” Rigaux is referring to Givairo Read, Gjivai Zechiël, Luciano Valente, Oussama Targhalline and Anis Hadj Moussa. On deadline day, an offer came in for the latter from Al Ittihad, Steven Bergwijn’s club. Rigaux, however, assumes that the Algerian international will simply remain at Feyenoord. “Earlier in the transfer window, he said he did not want to go to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, no agreements have been put in writing. The transfer window is now closed. That means we want to ensure we retain our quality on the pitch.” Feyenoord saw a lot of players leave this summer. No fewer than eighteen players left the Rotterdam club. Ayase Ueda (15 million), Leo Sauer (15 million), Anel Ahmedhodzic (7 million), In-Beom Hwang (4.5 million), Casper Tengstedt (4 million), Ramiz Zerrouki (2.25 million), Jeyland Mitchell (1.8 million) and Timon Wellenreuther (1 million) collectively brought in nearly 50 million. “Above all, we were able to offload a large number of players for specific sums.” Calvin Stengs, Luka Ivanušec, Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Gernot Trauner also left the club. Feyenoord did not receive a transfer fee for these players, but their departures did free up space in the wage bill. “We were tasked with drastically reducing the wage bill. To bring down transfer-related expenses.” When the Belgian took up his post this summer, Feyenoord’s squad consisted of around forty players. At the start of the transfer window, Feyenoord had the opportunity to sell Read for a substantial sum. Although Rigaux insists that this sum was lower than the thirty million euros being reported in the media. “The fact is that Jordan Bos has suffered a long-term injury. If, at the start of the window, you then have to sell another key player who brings a lot of value on the pitch, I think it was a very strong move on our part to enter into talks with Givairo. I see that more as a sign of strength,” says Rigaux, explaining why Read was not allowed to leave Rotterdam. Ayase Ueda did leave Feyenoord. According to Rigaux, this summer was the right time for the striker to leave. “He was at the end of a cycle at Feyenoord. He became the top scorer in the Dutch league, he turned 28 at the end of August, he played in the World Cup, and he had only two years left on his contract. In addition, he indicated that he was very keen to move to a top-five league.” Rigaux confirms that Fenerbahçe had shown an interest in Ueda earlier in the transfer window. That club tabled an offer of 25 million euros to the Rotterdam side. The technical director respected Ueda’s wish to move to a top-five league. “You can’t just push someone out the door.” Ultimately, Feyenoord received fifteen million euros for Ueda from Lille. “For them, that was a significant sum of money. For us, it was money that allowed us to get our finances more in order. In addition, there is also the financial reality of Feyenoord, which is well known to certain clubs.” In total, Rigaux reinvested just under twenty million euros. Nacho Ferri (9 million), Charles Vanhoutte (5.5 million) and Tjark Ernst (5 million) were signed from KVC Westerlo, OGC Nice and Hertha BSC respectively. In addition, the club signed Mika Mármol on a free transfer and took Javi López on loan from Real Sociedad. Rigaux says he will only be able to say whether Feyenoord have strengthened their squad sufficiently at the end of the season. “I do have a great deal of confidence in the team we have. Particularly because we’ve managed to retain players who are of great sporting value to Feyenoord and because we’ve been able to strengthen the squad in targeted areas. All in all, you could say that we certainly do not have an uncompetitive squad.” Rigaux emphasises that head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst was also aware of the limited options before he signed his contract. “The working relationship between the managing director, the technical director and the head coach is exceptionally good. Giovanni has been involved in everything.”   submitted by   /u/Roller95 [link]   [comments]