OM coach André Villas-Boas was full of praise on Thursday morning as he introduced his two new recruits, midfielder Pape Gueye and defender Leonardo Balerdi.
Coach Andre Villas-Boas is satisfied with OM's first two forays into the summer transfer market. With the arrival of promising midfielder Pape Gueye and defender Leonardo Balerdi, the Portuguese coach has two players he has been longing for.
Pape Gueye (FRA), defensive midfielder, 21 years old:
"He has integrated very well. He's very interested in the style of play and he asks a lot of questions about what we want in terms offensive and defensive philosophies. He's a very good person; we had good conversations before he signed for OM. It's true that there's a lot of competition in his position because, as you know, we've put [Boubacar] Kamara in the middle for this season, but he's here to earn his place. He can also play a little higher, we've already tested that. Honestly, I'm very happy with the way he's evolving. He's very strong technically, he has an impressive physical presence and he's a very nice person. His integration in the squad has been perfect."
Leonardo Balerdi (ARG), central defender, 21 years old:
"Leo, he has all the qualities. He's powerful, he's fast, he's very strong technically. He's a player I know from Boca Juniors and we followed him last year too, but we didn't have the financial capacity to sign him. This year we were able to do it on loan. It's a very good move for us. I hope that at the end of the season we'll be able to exercise his option because we think he's yet another super-talented Argentine, a player with a great future in the world of football."
(Photo credit: OM)
