Amid the recent buzz, Gian Piero Gasperini strongly denied the notion that Atalanta will necessarily be sellers in the summer. On the contrary, he believes the managament will further reinforce the squad through careful planning, he told L’Eco di Bergamo.
Luis Muriel has been linked to Inter, while Robin Gosens is on Juventus and Manchester City radar. “When I see those rumors, I think they still treat us like a small team that can be raided by bigger ones. They want to disturb us but they do not realize that the club and the infrastructure here is very strong and we always aim to improve. We we will not get distracted. Our success bothers a lot of people: we are seen as intruders by the outfits at the top of the table.”
Gasperini was timidly connected to the Juventus job: “I feel at home here, I see a stronger Atalanta in the future. Two years in Champions League fortified us technically and mentally. The team grew both economically and in terms of experience. The Percassi family improved even further. Other sides are having economical problems, while our balance sheets are rock-solid. Now it is time to exploit this advantage.”
“We have a great core, but we can always improve. Last-minute purchases are not functional, the more useful deals are those prepared well in advance, like Cristian Romero, Joakim Maehle and Matteo Pessina. It surely is tougher to gamble on some unknown players now, we need them to be ready and maybe know Serie A. We must be more balanced numerically, for instance we have too many attackers right now.”