Director Fabio Paratici insists Juventus ‘did nothing wrong’ on the Luis Suarez test and confirms Alvaro Morata was their target before Edin Dzeko.
The Bianconeri face Roma tonight at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
The week has been dominated by the investigation into the University of Perugia, who are accused of rigging Suarez’s Italian language test to help him get a passport.
Director Fabio Paratici insists Juventus ‘did nothing wrong’ on the Luis Suarez test and confirms Alvaro Morata was their target before Edin Dzeko.
The Bianconeri face Roma tonight at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
The week has been dominated by the investigation into the University of Perugia, who are accused of rigging Suarez’s Italian language test to help him get a passport.
Although there have been calls for action against Juventus, the authorities have repeatedly stated the club is not under investigation.
“We did nothing wrong. There was this opportunity for Suarez to leave Barcelona, we acted entirely within the rules and in the light of day, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Paratici told Sky Sport Italia.
“I am not a magistrate nor a policeman, so I don’t know what the situation is, nor thought about the way they are approaching the investigation.”
Naturally, this evening the focus will be on Dzeko, who was on the verge of joining Juve last week before they turned to Morata instead, on loan with option to buy from Atletico Madrid.
Morata is thrown straight into the starting XI by coach Andrea Pirlo in another surprising line-up.
“We know Andrea well, he was a courageous and creative player, so he has brought those elements to his coaching career. He also observes the players in training and decides based on those sessions what he should do.
“I think this is the one time the papers have been filled more with talk of the player who didn’t arrive than the one who did. The transfer market is all about possibilities, being creative and reactive to changing situations, we did that,” continued Paratici.
“We had made an approach for Morata earlier in the summer, but Atletico Madrid refused to let him go out on loan. We shifted to Dzeko and he probably would’ve arrived had other moves gone the right way, but we never let go of Morata and the elements shifted into place.
“Morata is a player well suited to the characteristics and approach of this Juventus team and we’re very happy to have him back here. He is one of us.”