Liverpool have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Teun Koopmeiners as the Atalanta star has an agreement with Serie A giants Juventus
Liverpool-linked Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners has skipped training to try and force a move to Juventus, his coach Gian Piero Gasperini has revealed, as relayed by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
The future of Teun Koopmeiners at Atalanta has been in doubt for some time now. The Netherlands international, who helped Atalanta win the Europa League this past season, has an agreement with Juventus. Liverpool have also been strongly linked with the creative midfielder’s signature over the last two months.
However, Juventus finds themselves in pole position for the 26-year-old and Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini has claimed in an interview with Italian outlet Eco di Bergamo that the player has already agreed to move to Old Lady, leaving his club feeling “blackmailed”.
“Atalanta manager Gasperini: Koopmeiners already has an agreement with Juve, doesn’t want to train with us. He’s stressed, he says”, Fabrizio Romano tweeted from his official X account.
“He won’t play anymore and will stay out”, says ahead of Super Cup game vs Real Madrid. The club feels blackmailed by this situation”.
As per Gasperini, Koopmeiners having a contractual agreement with Juventus is a big blow for Liverpool. The Reds had planned to make the Dutch midfielder their first signing of the Arne Slot era earlier this month. Arne Slot has previously coached the midfielder during his time as AZ Alkmaar manager, so he is well aware of the player’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Dutch tactician is seeking to reinforce the midfield unit, especially after the release of Thiago Alcantara at the end of June. With Liverpool on the lookout for midfield reinforcements, someone in the ilk of Koopmeiners would have certainly been a good option.
The Atalanta star is a crisp passer of the ball, tenacious in the tackle, dynamic, covers a lot of ground, creates chances and scores. Capable of operating in multiple positions across the midfield, the Dutchman, who is valued at around €50m, likes to operate in advanced positions and make things tick for his team.
As Thiago has left the club in the wake of his contract expiry, Wataru Endo well into his 30s and Ryan Gravenberch not really managing to impress in the pre-season tour of the US, there certainly was room for Koopmeiners to come in and give Slot’s side a new option to add some vigour, creativity and bite to their midfield unit. He would have been an excellent option to compete with the existing crop of midfielders as well as add quality depth to Slot’s squad that will compete in the Champions League in the forthcoming season.
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Coming off the back of a sensational season with Atalanta, where he netted 15 goals and supplied seven assists across all competitions, coupled with Slot’s expertise of his qualities on and off the ball, Koopmeiners would have been a dream addition to our squad, but unfortunately, with Juventus favourites for his signature, we will now have to look elsewhere for our first summer signing.
