Tudor lauds ‘strong’ Koopmeiners, weighs in on Vlahovic & David | OneFootball

Juventus head coach Igor Tudor was full of praise for Teun Koompmeiners following Saturday’s friendly win over Atalanta.

The Bianconeri had their dress rehearsal before next weekend’s Serie A opener against Atalanta. They managed to round off a brief, yet positive, pre-season by beating La Dea in Bergamo by two goals to one.

The contest also witnessed Koopmeiners’ return to the Gewiss Stadium, where he made a name for himself in Italian football before leaving last summer on the back of a dramatic and lengthy transfer saga.

Tudor hails Teun Koopmeiners & Jonathan David

The Dutchman has been mostly playing as an attacking midfielder since his arrival in Turin, but Tudor is adamant about testing him in a deeper role.

The 27-year-old played the entire match in the double pivot, and his performances earned him plaudits from his manager.

“Teun was very good,” said Tudor in his post-match press conference via IlBianconero. “He’s a strong player. I really liked his display today.”

(Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

The 46-year-old was also asked about Jonathan David who had a quiet evening, but ended up breaking the deadlock in the 73rd minute with an acrobatic effort.

“When you play against Atalanta, you have to be ready for a duel. It wasn’t easy against Hien, so welcome to Italian football!

“Jonathan moved a lot, he worked hard, he gave everything. It was different for him at Lille, as he didn’t have as many duels. Today, he had more duels than he did while playing 10 games for Lille, and then he scored in the box. He’s an excellent player.”

Dusan Vlahovic re-enters Juventus plans?

Dusan Vlahovic also got on the scoresheet a couple of minutes following his introduction. The Serbian has been placed on the transfer list, but Juventus are struggling to offload him.

Tudor has seemingly left the door open for the 25-year-old to stay at the club and get reintegrated into his plans.

“I won’t talk about the transfer market, there are still 10 days left. I liked Dusan’s performance. He’s valuable and he’s a Juventus player.”