‘We are really happy’ – Roberto De Zerbi on Amir Murillo contract extension | OneFootball

Speaking at a press conference attended by Get French Football News, Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi was full of praise for defender Michael Amir Murillo (29) after the club announced a contract extension for the Panamanian this morning.

It’s good news for Les Olympiens and Murillo, but the club confirmed during a medical update ahead of De Zerbi’s press conference that the 29-year-old will be out for several weeks after suffering a hamstring injury during last weekend’s game against Nantes at the Vélodrome. He will miss the game against Lens on Saturday, as well as the trip to Paris in the Classico later this month. “Yes, first of all, I am very happy about the extension of his contract, because he has earned it. You have to recognise the work of people who do good things. At the moment, he is having a very good season, and we are all really happy for him.”“But yes, it is a problem, because Murillo has unique characteristics. It is therefore not easy to replace him, especially with a player of similar quality. Lirola is close, but he still lacks something to fill that position and fulfil that role in exactly the same way. Rongier can also do it, but he is primarily a midfielder. On the other side, there is also Kondogbia, who is another midfielder.”“So we have to analyse the situation as a whole. A centre-back in a back four, especially for the role assigned to him, has different characteristics. We will see how his injury progresses and how many games we will have to play without him. Then we will make our decisions on a case-by-case basis, game after game.”GFFN | George Boxall