Atalanta director Cristiano Giuntoli is ‘confident we’ve made the right decision’ hiring Maurizio Sarri, and explains why Eljif Elmas is ‘a Joker in the pack.’
The match with Sassuolo kicks off at the New Balance Stadium at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).
La Dea had a rough start to their season when held to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Conference League play-off by Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
That confirmed the shift to Sarri’s 4-3-3 formation after more than a decade using the three-man defence is proving to be a little tricky.
Giuntoli trusts Atalanta on right track
“It isn’t such an easy change for these players to Sarri’s ideas, but they are following him and we are confident we’ve made the right decision,” Giuntoli told DAZN Italia.
It has been a busy summer for the Bergamo side, who saw veterans like Berat Djimsiti leave, but they brought North Macedonia international Elmas back to Serie A.
“We have many talented centre-backs, yesterday we signed Eljif Elmas, a lad who Sarri knows well. He’s a Joker in the pack who can play on the wing or in central midfield,” continued the Atalanta director.
“There was an opportunity with Elmas and we gladly took it. We’ve always thought about this type of player, so we moved quickly also thanks to him.”
Injuries are already piling up, as this evening against Sassuolo they are missing Thomas Kristensen, Isak Hien, Honest Ahanor and Kamaldeen Sulemana.
