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Ernesto Valverde was happy to see the transfer window close last week, despite Barcelona's failings to add to their squad on a frantic deadline day in the Catalan capital. Barca director Albert Soler has since claimed that Liverpool asked for €200 million for Philippe Coutinho, forcing them to walk away from the deal at the last minute, while a late move for Angel Di Maria also proved unsuccessful. Valverde had challenged the board going into the final week of August, saying he hoped to have "a more competitive team" by September, but he's now happy to be able to focus on football matters ahead of Saturday's Catalan derby against Espanyol. "The best thing about the transfer market is that it's ended now," he said in a news conference on Friday. "We have to focus on the team we've got. It's the best team in the world, it's our team and we shouldn't overlook what we have." Barca made four signings in the summer, including the club-record purchase of Ousmane Dembele for an initial fee of €105 million, but there was disappointment, above all, at the failure to land Coutinho. "I know that big signings generate excitement, but that's short-lived," Valverde added. "You have to play well and win to generate that excitement." Valverde expects Quique Sanchez Flores' Espanyol to be "aggressive and to press high" at Camp Nou this weekend but he refused to reveal if he will hand a debut to Dembele. "It's been good for Dembele to have these days training with us this week -- every day he looks better, more prepared," the coach said. "But I'm not going to say if I have decided if he will play or not." Valverde will also make a late decision on Luis Suarez and Paulinho after both returned to training on Friday following international commitments with Uruguayan and Brazil respectively. "We will have to assess the situation because there's also Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday," he said. "On the one side a derby, but there's a handicap in that [Friday] is the only day I will have with all the players. A lot of my players have been more burdened [during the international break] than Espanyol's."
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