Percassi: ‘Atalanta able to sign previously unthinkable players’

Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi notes that as the club has raised the bar, there is also ‘more competition’ for transfer targets and they are able to sign players who ‘were unthinkable.’

The Europa League clash with Sporting CP kicks off at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo at 17.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Servette-Roma and Fiorentina-Genk on the LIVEBLOG.

Although they have already secured their place in the knockouts of the Europa League, they need a point today to be sure of first place.

That is precious, as it means avoiding the February play-offs against one of the sides that come down from the Champions League.

“We know this is a great challenge, as Sporting are a very strong team and despite our victory, they gave us a lot of problems in the away leg,” Percassi told Sky Sport Italia.

“Getting to play a fixture like this is an honour for Atalanta, it is full of significance and shows how our work has taken us to this moment. We know the importance of this match and that it is going to be a battle.”

La Dea have a remarkable youth academy and scouting network, which has allowed them to churn out talents, sell them on at huge profits, and start the cycle again.

“A few years ago we were the only ones targeting certain players, but that has now changed. There is a lot more competition, the transfer market has evolved and accelerated also post-COVID, so finding young lads suited to our project is increasingly complicated.

“All we can do is keep working and try to make as few errors as possible.”

Along with unknown players, Atalanta are now also trying to regenerate players like Gianluca Scamacca from West Ham United and Charles De Ketelaere from Milan.

“Atalanta were also not as well known a few years ago, but with all our results lately that has increased. The investment has also increased in the club and that allowed us to go for profiles who a while ago were unthinkable.

“Every transfer session is different, the evolution of players is a complicated process and the most important thing is bringing in players who fit the project.”

Atalanta had broken their transfer record by paying €28m plus bonuses for striker El Bilal Toure from Almeria, but he never got to play, sustaining a serious muscular tear in August.

“I believe he will be back training with the squad from January and then naturally it will be a process of making a full recovery.”

Source From: Football Italia

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