As a result of winning their first Copa del Rey title in 40 years at the start of April, Athletic Club will be playing European football next season, at least in the Europa League. They are aiming for Champions League qualification, but after last week’s defeat to Atletico Madrid, their chances are slipping away.

Los Leones make the trip to Getafe on Friday night, as they aim to keep pace with Atleti. However, they are facing the possibility of only having one fit centre-back (Aitor Paredes) for the fixture, with Yeray Alvarez and Dani Vivian struggling with knocks.

Ernesto Valverde only have three senior central defenders in his squad, which is something he cannot understand. As he told his pre-match press conference (via Diario AS), he hopes to have extra options added during the summer, especially with the added matches that will come with playing in Europe.

“The club has to value (signing a centre-back). Yeray has been out of action for quite a few months, it’s a lot of risk. We’re lucky that we’ve only been able to sustain ourselves with two centre-backs. We’ve played with fire for a large part of the season.”

Centre-backs should be a priority position for Athletic Club this summer, especially after Valverde’s remarks. They will not be able to rely on three options next season, considering that they will be playing across four competitions.