‘No direct interest’ for Juventus and Liverpool target Koopmeiners

Atalanta director Luca Percassi insists they ‘have not received any direct interest’ in Juventus and Liverpool transfer target Teun Koopmeiners, but has a Charles De Ketelaere update.

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Giorgio Scalvini and De Ketelaere are out injured, while coach Gian Piero Gasperini sits out a touchline ban, so assistant manager Tullio Gritti is on the bench.

Director general Percassi was asked whether Atalanta have decided to take up their option to buy De Ketelaere from Milan yet.

“We are very pleased that Charles will be at the disposal of the coach from tomorrow. He had a great impact from the first day, both on the field and off it,” Percassi told Mediaset.

“We are very pleased with his progress, but this is not the time to talk about transfer strategy, we can only say that we are very pleased with how he has done so far.”

Koopmeiners is a player who has been in the headlines for months, with reports that Juventus and Liverpool are at the front of the bidding war, a price-tag rumoured to be in the region of €60m.

“Let’s just say that Atalanta do not need to sit down and talk about their players at this stage. It’s normal that Koopmeiners and others are doing well, so consequently can attract interest from various clubs.

“However, we have not received any direct interest. We’ll see later on, we’ll sit down and talk once the season has closed, and whatever we do will be with the objective of strengthening the squad.”

Percassi had already commented last week to deny that Koopmeiners had asked Atalanta for a transfer this summer.

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