Every word Xabi Alonso says on Caicedo’s fit, Man City accusations and Palmer’s criticism

How important is this Man City story?

There is definitely a decision, but you have to be patient. We have to wait for the final sanctions from the panel. I think they are independent enough to assess all situations. I’m certainly not an expert, and whatever I say, whatever we have to say, they have to accept that, and we have to respect that and be patient. There will definitely be a moment when we know, but it will probably take a little longer.

You talk about being patient, but for the integrity of the Premier League is there a need for a result when it comes to appeals and sanctions this season?

Well, that’s the first appeal. After that, we will have to wait until the panel announces the moves and we will see what happens. For us, it’s out of our hands. I think that’s something we have to respect, the independence from the judiciary and let’s see what happens within the rules that will be respected.

Three weeks from the Brentford game. What have you noticed in the last three weeks?

Of course, the break took too long. We’ve had time for everything, we’ve had time to analyze what we’re doing in this game, what’s coming and working with some players, restoring some players. We used the time properly for this and prepared for Bournemouth tomorrow.

What can you tell us about player recovery? Is Moises Caicedo ready to go now?

Yes, it’s ready to go. Finally, you asked this question and we took advantage of our time with Moises [get him] backwards compatible. He is training well and ready to go.

Joao Pedro, Reece James and Cole Palmer have not featured for their country in the past few weeks. Did they get to practice this week?

Yes, they were able to train. Some earlier than others. Marco Palestra too. So we took advantage of the time and that was the plan. We knew we were struggling with some players against Brentford, but now they have trained well and they are ready to go.

It should be a big boost for you as all these frontline players are ready for the Bournemouth game…

Yes, definitely. We knew they were key players, very important and would have a big impact. We’ve seen it so far during the week and now we’ve got five games in the Premier League for the next block of games, the next internationals, and hopefully they’ll be around for a long time. But for tomorrow they will be fine.

Thomas Tuchel said that Cole Palmer missed too many matches for the England national team. What did you say to these comments? Could he have played in England in the last two weeks?

He has been training for the last week. He felt better. We didn’t want to rush as we had plenty of time. The most important thing for Cole is to be fit, enjoy his game, feel good. When he wasn’t there, like in the Brentford game, we could see him struggling and he had a good feeling with him and felt better in the next half.

Laurence Stewart will leave the club soon. It was a surprise and how do you see the changes in the sports structure of the club?

Firstly, Lawrence has been very helpful since we started talking to the club a few months ago. Thank you for that and I wish him the best. I don’t think it will change much from our work structure, from our communication with Behdad [Eghbali]With Jose [E. Feliciano]With Sam [Jewell]Paul [Winstanley]Joe [Shields]. The roles are clear and will not change much.

How is Jamie Gittens?

He won’t fit in tomorrow. This is bad news about the international break. He has an ankle injury and will be out for a few weeks.

Feel like throwing Josh Acheampong in?

He has already played a few games and is ready to play. I saw him do well with the U21s. He didn’t play the last game against Ireland, but he did well and is definitely taking a step forward. He plays more mature, more aggressive, he knows what it takes to compete in the Premier League. Because he is young, he has great potential and great qualities. He played and will play again.

How do you rate Bournemouth’s challenge?

A difficult test. Very intense, fast paced game, very demanding. They have a very clear idea of ​​what to do with Marco and earlier Andoni. The core of the team is exactly the same. Every time we play Bournemouth, it’s difficult to play against them, but it’s at home, we have to play well and we want to win, we need to win. We are preparing for tomorrow.

Another one at Man City. I know it didn’t particularly affect you as a player, but if you were a player during that time and you didn’t win the trophy, how do you think it would make you feel?

I didn’t think so. Let’s see. I am not going to make a final decision and prefer to wait. We have a final moment and we have a clear situation of what might happen, but of course I wasn’t involved, so it’s not my problem.

You mentioned that the three-week break is too long. Do you think it’s too long?

If you ask me which I prefer, three breaks or two breaks, I prefer the other way. You disconnect too much with it, it’s too long. What would I do if you asked my opinion? I would do the same as before.

On the flipside, this one in particular probably worked in your favor. You almost have to start over with returning players…

Yes, that’s true. We used it and it was positive for us, but for the dynamics of the club coach I would have preferred it differently. Maybe the coaches of the national team prefer another way, I don’t know. Maybe some players have mixed opinions, so let’s see what happens next year.

You said in your interview yesterday that the start of the season was not good enough. Do you think it’s going to take a little longer than you think to get your side to where you want to be?

It will take time, we will check how long. You have to be in this process to constantly improve, to keep learning, to be competitive, to play well, to read the moment, to adapt to situations. It’s part of the process and the feeling is that we learn something from every game, but knowing that every game is really difficult, we have to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes.

Just one on Cole, do you think some of the criticism about him not being committed to playing in England has been a bit harsh? Is he faithful?

He is tenacious but needs to be fully fit to play and will enjoy his minutes when he is fully fit. At that moment, we need a club and a national team.

Have there been any talks between the players about Man City?

I don’t think so.

You can talk but you can talk to your friends because we don’t have information. Our situation does not change. We need to focus on ourselves, but we want to know what will happen at the right moment. I really respect when you have to be in a court case or not, when you want things to happen faster than normal. Patience is essential.

Is it a message from you to the football players that we should pass them anyway and not rely on points deduction?

No, no, absolutely. We’re doing our job and that’s all we can think about and control, and we’ll know what the situation is at the right time. It’s not up to us, it’s not up to you, sorry. Neither to experts nor to anyone. Just respecting the criteria and the panel’s decision.

How important is the return of Moises Caicedo?

Undoubtedly, any team will miss a player with quality, importance and dynamism. We miss him and are happy to have him back. He feels better. For example, we didn’t want to take a risk for Brentford because we played against Brighton, I did [take risks] I and I said, Xabi, you made a mistake, but now he feels better.

What do you think about not giving Estevao Willian too much time?

It’s still early, we’ve had a few games since we started and Este is feeling better from the injury. We have seen him play more in Brazil, the context is different, what he played with the national team until the Premier League. But we know the demand of the Premier League and we know Este, how important he can be in some games and he will have moments and more minutes.