Sevilla hopeful on Konoplyanka switch

Sevilla’s director of sport Monchi remains confident of bringing Yevhen Konoplyanka to the club despite apparent delays in negotiations.

The Dnipro winger has been heavily linked with the Spanish club as well as Premier League side Stoke City and Turkish giants Besiktas during recent weeks.

Despite speculation over his future continuing to rumble on, Monchi says Sevilla remain at the front of the queue to sign him, having also recently acquired former Chelsea winger Gael Kakuta.

“It is still alive and we knew when we started competing for his [Konoplyanka’s] signature that it would be a complicated task,” Monchi told reporters.

“The delay does not mean anything negative for Sevilla, quite the contrary. The longer the process goes on, it means that Seville remains an option.

“It is an issue that is not easy but we move forward slowly. We will not wait forever but at the level that the negotiation is, I do not see it lasting too much longer.

“We want to tie everything up so that the player is convinced, focused and happy.”

Reports in recent days have also suggested Sevilla are keen to bring Adriano back from Barcelona, with team-mate Martin Montoya and Juventus striker Fernando Llorente mooted as potential targets as well.

“When reading in the press today about Adriano, we were surprised,” Monchi added.

“He is a player who we have great affection for but he is in another orbit. Llorente is not a target and neither is Montoya. They are players that we like but obviously we set goals that are realistic.

“We go where we can and to what we can achieve, both in sporting and economic terms.”