Verdú: Now is not the time to talk about my renewal

Espanyol captain, Joan Verdú refuses to talk about the status of his contract renewal, instead maintaining focus in the Catalan’s bid to stave off relegation.

• By Tom Conn       Follow @TomConnISF

In an interview with EFE, Verdú, whose contract expires this summer and is free to negotiate with other teams, is insistent that his renewal is not at the forefront of his thoughts as his focus is keeping out of the relegation zone.

“My agent knows where my priorities lie, but I can’t close any doors. A few things have come my way, but I told them to reject them all as I know now is not the time to talk about these issues.”

Verdú then changed the subject to Espanyol’s match against Mallorca, a direct rival in their relegation battle, this weekend.

“We feel good, and we are a team that will fight hard for a victory.  We have to be conscious of the goal differential.

“[Aguirre] has urged us to be strong on both the attack and defence and we must be strong leave with a clean sheet.

“I’m one of the players who ‘s played the most minutes and now I’m focused on another mission.  I’m out to help the team and do whatever the manager asks of me.”