Jose Luis Perez Caminero: 'I think that Atlético has to be one of the top sides in the league'

Jose Luis Perez Caminero, Director of Football of Club Atlético de Madrid, appeared before the media to discuss all issues related to the first team, just before leaving for the preseason camp in Los Angeles de San Rafael, Segovia.    The first question was aimed at the future of Agüero, whether Atlético de Madrid, and Jose Luis Perez Caminero, would be prepared to negotiate a transfe, to which he said. 'Right now, Kun Agüero  is and asset of Club Atlético de Madrid and we’re not looking to sell him nor negotiate. Let's wait for the boy to come back. heis one of the best players we can find and we are confident that after the Copa America has finished he will return to Atlético de Madrid and will be a player as important as in previous seasons,' he said.    He re-emphasized that ‘rojiblancos’ would not negotiate with other foreign clubs like Juventus and Manchester City. 'Great players are always desired by the big teams and we are lucky to have Kun. We are a team who wants the best players and Kun is one of them.  All we want is that when the boy finishes the Copa America, he comes here and continue to demonstrate what a great player he is ontinues to grow in this team,' he said.    Asked if the Club intends to change Kuns mind, Caminero said that 'he has to realize that the Club does not want to sell him, everyone here wants him to stay and that if we change his mind that would make everyone happy. There are few players like him in the world and Atlético de Madrid and we have theis player. All we’re thinking is that Kun is going to continue wearing the red and white shirt next season.'    The Director of football continued  'there are moments in life when you need a change. He is now involved in the Copa America and only thinking about his national team, when he finishes the tournament we will talk to him to try to change this situation. The fans want to see the best players scoring goals and winning things wearing the club colours. Big teams like Atlético de Madrid need their best players to continue to grow.    He was also asked about the goalkeepers situation after the departure of De Gea to Manchester United. 'We have two great goalkeepers, Joel and Sergio Asenjo. Sergio is in a recovery process and working with the medical team and management to find out when he’ll be fit to compete, when we know this we will make a decision on whether or not we signed another goalkeeper. But now everyone can rest assured that we have two great goalkeepers with great potential and I am sure that they will entertain our fans,' he said.    About Diego Costa not returning for the first day of training, José Luis Pérez Caminero said that 'we saw on Monday that he was not at training, we have tried to locate and management has already spoken with him.We know he’s in Brazil and coming in the next few hours. If not tomorrow he’ll be here in Spain the following day. We will listen, talk to him and the idea is that he’ll give us an explanation of what happened and then he will join his teammates in training. He’s an important player for on the 28th we have our first official game. Diego Costa is another player in tha squad and we believe he can bring lots of things to the team. We have to listen because we do not know if he had a problem and from there we will make the decisions we have to make.'    In terms of potential positions that would need cover with new signings, Pérez Caminero said 'we are talking every day with the manager and we know the positions that need strengthening, but it will depend on who leaves. I don’t think there will be many people coming in. Gradually, players have joined us and there are not many positions need strengthening.'    With regard to Diego Forlan, Caminero said that 'we passed on the offers to his representative, as we do with all players when we recieve any offers. For us, Forlan is a great player who has contributed lots of good things to the club. We want to have the best players and Forlan is one of them. He remains an Atlético de Madrid player because he has contract with us for the next three campaigns.'    The non-EU players was another issue to be addressed by the Atlético Director of Football. 'We now have five non-EU players. We are in the process of getting citizenship for Godi, which would take us to having four and those four will have the opportunity during preseason to show what state they are. Ultimately, the Club, along with the manager, will decide which player can go,' he said.    He also spoke of the presence of academy players in the squad. 'We now have eight homegrown players training with us. This is partly due to some of our players competing in the Copa. Hopefully many of them can stay because it would be a sign that the academy works. There would be no better news that a one of our own makes it to the first team,' he said.    Asked if the club were thinging of signing Tiago, after being released by Juventus after the last year and a half . 'there are lots of names being branded about. Clearly we have many names on the table in addition to the ones appearing in the newspapers. We must always find the best players and make a competitive team. I’m in favour of a team that has to have lots of options in midfield. It is essential because that’s where the tempo of the game is controled, not only to defend but also to attack. We are looking at a number of player as we plan for the season,' he said.    During the press conference the league fixtures were released, with Real Sociedad-Atletico Madrid being the first game of the season. 'It's a team that had to fight to the end to stay in the league. It is a team that is going to make things difficult, but we are Atlético de Madrid and we have to go to every ground looking to win, looking for three points to help us through a long and hard season,' he said.    He gave us an idea of what to expect from Atlético de Madrid during the 2011/12 season. 'What we talk to every day withGregorio Manzano is that Atlético de Madrid has to go out and shine. We do not have to think too much, at home we’ll have to have a lot of the ball to keep our fans happy and we’ll have to stand up and be counted away from home. If we can instill this in the players the whole team will win and go forward. It is important that players know that we're not going to think too much about the outcome, but our responsibility is to go out and win every Sunday,' he concluded