On Wednesday, the press room at Bluenergy Stadium hosted a press conference featuring managing director Franco Collavino, technical director Gokhan Inler, and the last four signings of the summer transfer window. Among them was winger Rui Modesto, who joined the club from Greek outfit AIK.
Collavino: “Modesto is still a young player, but he already has solid European experience with several clubs in different countries. He’s a quick wide player, excellent going forward, and he perfectly complements the characteristics of the squad. We’re convinced he’ll do extremely well.”
Inler: “We’ve signed a player with the right mentality, which I really like. He’s a guy who always gives his all in training and is waiting for his chance to play. He needs to adapt to Serie A and I’m talking to him a lot to help him settle in. He can give us a lot down the wing.”
Modesto: “As for my qualities, I’m fast, attacking-minded and like to get forward and be involved in the game. I need to improve because the level here is higher, especially in defence, but without a doubt, everything will soon fall into place. Right now, I just need to work hard. The coach tells me what he expects from me and I follow his instructions. I try to give my best on the pitch – which is obviously going forward – but there’s more to it than that.
“Everything at Udinese is very professional. I’m really happy to be here. My team-mates welcomed me right away. The results we’ve achieved so far are the product of our hard work. A player I admire? Every player has one and for me, it’s Marcelo, an absolutely top player.’
“I already knew the team from watching Serie A. There are a lot of players who have already shown a lot. I definitely knew Flo [Thauvin], Alexis [Sanchez] and [Gerard] Deulofeu, but also the others. I’m really happy to be here and have the chance to play with players like them. It’s an important experience to get to train with them. I think Flo is the player I look up to the most given how he works and shows his qualities on the pitch. I admire him a lot.
“In football, everything moves very fast and you can’t wait around, but once Udinese showed an interest in me, we talked and seeing the club made all the difference. They have a great project, both for the team and the club as a whole. The facilities here are fantastic – it was an easy decision.”