Boss Duljaj on arrivals and departures

After arrival of latest signings Nikolic and Kanoute, Partizan boss Igor Duljaj spoke to media reps and talked about new signings bonus players, departures, Natcho`s role and more.

-As for Kanoute, it took some time to sign him but I`m more than pleased with his arrival. When opportunity to sign NIkolic came by, I was more than enthusiastic about it as he`s a player who loves and respects this club. Moreover, he can contribute individually and collectively. He`s friends with number of players in this team and feels at home with us, said Duljaj.

Are there any more signings expected?

-We are not finished with new arrivals yet, we look into players for certain team positions. I already said it`s hard when you train with one and play games with another team but we must not rush things. There are good and bad options. At the moment, we have bad and slightly not to bad option, the second one means we wait and pick what Partizan needs.

Kanoute and predujice?

-We spoke almost every day, the two of us. He had some predujice about Belgrade and I told him to come over and convince himself it`s not as the rumours go. Then I asked Natcho and Menig to go out for a lunch with Kanoute and myself, so that he can hear from his teammates how they feel in Belgrade, what Partizan is about. Afterwards, I asked Kanoute if he is our player now, he shook my hand, I hugged him and I knew there and then he`s our player.

-He played in a strong second-tier league and I love his ball-aggressive profile. Kanoute just needs a bit of time to adapt but I`m sure he`ll add a lot of good things to Partizan. Without a doubt, he`s a great player.

-Klub works on new signings but you are only close to do it when player is about to sign and when I see him here. We know what we want and what we don`t want – that`s equally important.

-It`s impossible to start the season with three centre-backs, you need four at least. That`s our priority now. It helps us that start of the domestic season is moved week forward. We need home player for this position.

How about forwards?

-We have Nikolic, Bazdar and Pavlovic but there are other options too. But, I don`t want to rush and promise something I cannot fulfill.

Partizan youngsters?

-We have to promote young players and I would over the moon if all of them could play. But, those ready to play will get their opportunity regardless of their age.

Diabate?

-I got in touch with him and trust me, I still call him but he didn`t call back. I`ll find him, wherever he is. What I know is that Partizan covered all the obligations club had towards Diabate. Let him join us, we`ll talk, this is not happening only in Partizan but in other clubs too. There`s penalty policy, you pay and that`s it.

Departures?

-Lots of players left already. Vujacic deserved to go, I didn`t want to allow myself to prevent him from leaving, from getting a good deal at his age. He signed for a great club and I`d like to thank him for everything he`s done for Partizan.

-We have lot of quality youngsters. Bazdar stands out and he`s been here for a long time now, he just needs to fix his little bugs and he`ll be alright.

Bonus players?

-We have several bonus player options, Ilic and Bazdar before any. They need support if playing mistakes occur but things will be alright in that department. We have to take care of those youngsters, not to force anything.

Team captain?

-Everyone here is our player but we didn`t make decision on armband yet. When I look back from my perspective, we had home players as captains – Jovetic, Tomic, Smiljanic Ilic etc. But, if you ask me who`s got that ability, experience and everything else, it`s Natcho. His role is big, even if he`s not on the field. Young players can learn a lot from him. He keeps them together, he`s the real deal and there`s no doubt it.  My stance is – and I might be wrong – that captain should be a home players but Natcho is one of the captains too and he`s got respect from all of us.

Natcho on the field?

-Natcho can help us and we`ve seen that in Eternal derby game. I told him back then he`s not five minute player. Age is just a number and Natcho will surely play a serious role this season. We don`t have to agree on everything but we can always argue around one idea>

-We keep quiet doing our pre-season work and I`m not going to make any promises.

Coaching staff additions?

-I`ve been in touch with Valerio for a long time and Bruno is in the football world for so long now. They both mean a lot to me as well as all the other members of the coaching staff.

-Kanoute and Nikolic will get certain minutes on the field for a friendly against Bohemians, I just have to see how much time they can get.