Sevilla boss Unai Emery insists Fernando Llorente’s admission that returning to Juventus “would be a dream” were taken out of context.
Llorente ended his two-year association with Juve last summer in order to join Sevilla on a free transfer, but his subsequent struggles to establish himself as Los Nervionenses’ main striker were recently followed by a public desire to one day return to Turin.
Nonetheless, Emery – speaking ahead of Sevilla’s match against Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday – replied at a Press conference: “We’re looking forward to the game.
“Our enthusiasm remains intact at very high levels.
“We’ve used this little break well to help us fight for our objectives.
“We start again with games on Thursdays and Sundays, so we have to resume [this Sunday], knowing where we want to go.
“We must regain fifth place so we can look up the table. Every game for us is one more unique opportunity.
“[Yevhen] Konoplyanka and [Steven] N’Zonzi have been suffering from muscle injuries, but they’re likely to be in the squad.
“Still, there are others like Nico Pareja, who felt some discomfort in his knee and had to stop [training]. [Michael] Krohn-Dehli and [Daniel] Carrico are neither at 100 percent.
“[Llorente] always trains with enthusiasm and is playing with increasing regularity. In this final stretch of the season, I hope he produces his best performances.
“Context was necessary for his remarks [about Juve]. If you ask him about Juve, he’s obviously not going to criticise them.
“I think he can be important for us, playing or not playing. The team is the most important thing, though, and I want my players to give their hearts to the team.”
