Atalanta head coach Ivan Juric has delivered encouraging news on Ademola Lookman, confirming that the Super Eagles winger is edging closer to full strength, Bold Sports reports.
Lookman made his first club appearance of the season earlier this week, coming on in the closing stages of Atalanta’s 3-0 win away at Torino to replace Kamaldeen Sulemana. Since then, the 27-year-old has continued training with the squad, with Juric optimistic about his gradual return to peak condition.
“He’s training well, and slowly, we will try to get him back to full strength,” the Croatian tactician said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s highly-anticipated Serie A clash against Juventus.
Juric also reflected on his team’s start to the season, which saw them stumble to an opening-day draw against Pisa before recovering to claim a draw and two wins in their last three league matches: “I’m frustrated with the points we dropped against Pisa, because we could have won,” he admitted. “Since then, the team has unlocked in attack, and we want to continue like this.”
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Turning his attention to Juventus, Juric underlined the quality of Igor Tudor’s side and the threat they pose: “We have to be humble. We’re facing a team that has a lot of technical solutions. At Atalanta, we have to think about ourselves,” he said.
He reserved special praise for Kenan Yildiz, who has been one of Serie A’s standout performers so far this season, with a goal and three assists in four matches: “He’s always made the difference. For me, he’s a complete player and we will have to do our best to try and contain him,” Juric noted.
The Atalanta boss also highlighted Juventus’ attacking depth: “They have Conceicao, Zhegrova, Yildiz and also three very good strikers. They have speed, technique and a lot of different solutions. We will have to be ready in both the defensive and attacking phases.”
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