Luis Enrique upbeat about 2015 despite transfer ban

FC Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is looking ahead to 2015 with optimism despite the confirmation that the Spanish football club will not be able to make any new signings in the year.

Speaking in his first press conference Saturday after the decision taken by the Committee for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) to maintain the FIFA ban on Barca making signings as a result of irregularities in the club's youth system, Enrique said he was not surprised by the decision, reports Xinhua.

"We would have preferred another decision, but that's what there is. We have a good enough squad and the fact that we can't sign anyone for next season should serve to motivate the young players," said Enrique.

The Barca coach would not comment on whether or not the club would look to recover players such as Denis Suarez or Gerard Deulofeu, who are out on loan, "however, there are players I like in the B-team who can make the step up with no problems. The youth system has to be the place we look to," he commented.

"There are a lot of players in the B team who can help us," insisted Enrique, who was also asked how the transfer ban would affect the future of players such as Dani Alves, who is out of contract at the end of the season or Martin Montoya, who has hardly been a part of his plans this campaign.

"We will look at all of the possibilities at the end of the season and there are still five months to go," he said, giving special attention to Alves, who could have offers to move to England in the summer.

"He plays nearly every Sunday and he is important for us, but there is no hurry and we have to look at any departures very carefully," said the Barca coach, who despite the problems is still delighted to have returned to the club this summer.

"It's the best place I could be. It's my home and we have the best players, it could be that we have a talent for generating difficult circumstances, but the following day the sun comes up again and we have to make a lot of fans happy," concluded Enrique.