Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gaspeini has revealed that star playmaker Teun Koopmeiners has decided to join Juventus, that he has an agreement with the Bianconeri and that he has opted not to train with La Dea in the meantime.
The reigning Europa League-winning coach gave an in-depth interview on page 42 of Thursday’s print edition of l’Eco di Bergamo, published on Thursday morning.
Gasperini revealed that he thought all was going well with Koopmeiners at Atalanta until last week, when the Dutchman decided not to train with his teammates.
As a result, the coach feels he is no longer part of the squad, as he sees no other possible options to keep the 26-year-old on board. He also expressed his disappointment at how the situation has unfolded, explaining that the club have been left feeling ‘blackmailed’.
What Gasperini said about Koopmeiners and Juventus
“The situation with Koopmeiners was all going well until the end of last week. The player has decided to move to Juventus, he’s already got an agreement. He felt stressed and decided not to train or play with us anymore,” Gasperini told l’Eco di Bergamo.
“And with this situation, he is no longer of use to the squad, or to his teammates. The club, in turn, has taken a very firm stance because they feel blackmailed by the situation, one that is different to the many other times in the past when the club have sold prized assets to big teams.”
Though Koopmeiners has been widely tipped to join Juventus for the majority of the summer transfer window, the two clubs have not yet come to a formal agreement over a fee, despite the player having signed off on personal terms.
Reports have always suggested that Atalanta are keen to push for a €60m fee, while Juventus had been prepared to offer €45m at the end of July.
Recent updates suggest that Atalanta could be prepared to part ways with Koopmeiners for a slightly lower fee of €55m in order to move on to some of their own targets before the window slams shut at the end of the month.
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Players should play for the clubs they please as the case is with clubs sticking with only the players theyso wish.
And one is a professional and shouldn’t act like a petulant child.
It’s not all about wishes. There’s a contract which needs to be respected.