Director José María Muñoz and General Manager Kike Pérez announced plans for a restructure as the  look to work their way back up to Spain's top division, La Liga, and revealed the news at a press conference this week.

Malaga are placed 19th in the Segunda Division and with relegation to the Spanish third tier for the first time since 1998 confirmed. The 2012-13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists dropped from La Liga in 2018.

“From the outset, Kike and José María have given me great strength," Loren said. "The club needs to turn around and they believe that the person to do it is me. We have the same idea, that of being a club focused on homegrown players and good performance.

"The club needs complete communication from the foundation. And within that process everything must be clear up until the first team. A methodology that matches the style of play and the player we want to train.”

Loren, whose full name is Lorenzo Juarros, takes up his first role since 2018 after 16 years as Sporting Director at Sociedad came to an end.

In that time, he helped transform the club from second-tier strugglers to a team qualifying for the Champions League and Europa League with top-four and top-six finishes in La Liga.

As a player, he spent 14 seasons at the same club, and also had a spell at Athletic Club during a distinguished career in Spain's top flight.

Speaking of Loren's appointment, Pérez said: “I saw from the beginning that this is a club of youth development, and we must know how to handle that youth system.

"I needed that profile, someone who knows the life of a footballer, and someone with success in their professional career and a prestigious club.

"We are not hiring just a ‘recruiter’ of players from the category, but someone with experience in the dressing room and the offices, who can provide us with a comprehensive plan and to manage that landscape and create something that Málaga has been lacking for years, which is a sense of belonging.

"We want kids to see that there’s no better team than Málaga and to feel proud of the youth system in the province. I reckon Loren gets this and will encourage this."

Pérez indicated in the press conference that there will be big changes as part of the restructure, adding "the restructuring is going to involve everyone because we have all failed.”