Giuntoli, a dig at Juventus over ‘his’ Nico Gonzalez, Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz: “Very happy for them”

Atalanta sporting director, formerly of Juventus, speaks

Cristiano Giuntoli, sporting director of Atalanta, briefly touched on some of 'his' Juventus players during Franck Kessie's unveiling press conference when asked about their strong start to the season: "I'm very happy for them, they are showing their value. But I, honestly, am thinking about Atalanta: I think about the Atalanta of today and the one they will have to become from morning to night." Giuntoli, who was at Juventus from 2023 to 2025, was referring to Nico Gonzalez, Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz, the players he signed during his time in Turin.

On Atalanta's incoming transfer business

"We started with a key player, an Italian playmaker like Gaetano, who we thought we might be missing as part of the puzzle - reports TuttoAtalanta.com -. Then we moved on to Kristensen, after the unexpected departure, which he himself wanted, of Djimsiti: we signed him from Udinese. After that came Elmas, who we believe can be a very important player".

On De Roon and Kessie

"What happened was that de Roon asked to leave, he wanted to go to Roma, and we moved quickly for Franck, who we think can be a very important piece for the new project."

On Rowe

"In the end, we went for Rowe, who we believe can be the final key piece in this 4-3-3 system."