Nuno Santo has insisted that Valencia wish Nicolas Otamendi well, despite the protracted nature of the defender's move to Manchester City.
The Argentina international drew criticism for his perceived efforts in forcing through an exit from Mestalla, amid his agent's public declarations and reports that he refused to train prior to the side's Champions League playoff first leg against Monaco.
“We have the awareness and knowledge of what we need [in our squad], but we also have many other options,” he said at a Press conference ahead of Los Che's trip to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Saturday.
“It's not an ideal situation for us, but we're very attentive and working hard as there are only a few days left [of the transfer window].
“We wish Nico [Otamendi] well and all the best. I have the greatest admiration for Nico because he gave everything when he was with us.
“We're in a good spell at the moment. We've come into this match [against Rayo] well and not only because of our last game [the 3-1 win against Monaco].
“We consider the League to be very important. It begins in a traditionally-difficult manner against Rayo Vallecano, but we're very motivated to compete like we always do.
“We knew that these three players [Sofiane Feghouli, Dani Parejo and Jose Luis Gaya] would not be available, so we're prepared for the game in that sense.
“[Rayo] have changed a lot as they've lost a lot of players from last season, like [Leo] Baptistao, but also signed some important players and still have good players, their Coach and, therefore, characteristics.
“[On playing over Christmas], I personally don't think it causes any disturbance.
“We're professionals and we must be trained for all dates. It's normal that you want to be with your family [over Christmas] but we must be prepared.
“I hope the spectators will enjoy watching football games on these dates.”
