Maurizio Sarri : Kulusevski is a prospect of great interest

The 60-year-old Italian hailed his club for being attentive to the young players.

Dejan Kulusevski is the first signing for Juventus in the current winter transfer window and manager Maurizio Sarri was happy with it as he addressed the media before a crucial Serie A game against Cagliari on Monday. Juventus bought Kulusevski for an initial fee of $39m from Atlanta on a four-year contract. However, he will remain at Parma on loan for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old has had a breakthrough campaign at Parma, scoring four goals and providing seven assists so far this season. Juventus beat the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Inter Milan to sign the Swedish stalwart. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] "Kulusevski is a prospect of great interest. Having him here right away or not, is not part of what I have to judge. The important thing is that the club is attentive to these young players who are great prospects," remarked Sarri to Juventus. Sarri also accepted the fact that his team performed poorly in a 3-1 defeat against Lazio in the Italian Super Cup final last month. He said, "We have worked on the mistakes we made. We first focused on ourselves, then on Cagliari. We got it wrong mentally before we tactically got it wrong'."

On Injuries of his key defenders

Juventus have also been hit by the injuries of their key defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Giorgio Chiellini, which also affected their consistency in the first half of the season. [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Sarri said, "Matthijs de Ligt went through a complicated period between the problems he had with his shoulder and his adductors. During this time, Merih Demiral was in great condition which allowed for de Ligt to have a break. He is improving, tomorrow we will decide who starts." "It’s too early to talk about Chiellini. He is progressing well, but with his individual work. We will have to assess Chiellini's situation and at the end of the month Sami Khedira. Paulo Dybala has no problems. He did a differentiated workout because he was tired after two or three high-intensity workouts. Today he will train regularly with the group."

On Midfield and attacking trio

[KH_ADWORDS type="2" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Juve's performance in the last game also raised questions over the use of the trident with Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain. Sarri addressed this issue by saying, "Regarding the trident, we see tomorrow. There is also Aaron Ramsey who is improving a lot. It will need consideration because the two Cagliari playmakers are dangerous on the break. A lot of attention will be needed." He also urged his midfielders to improve their quality in order to help the defence during the game. Saari remarked, "We are trying Rabiot as centre-right, Emre Can both in the centre and centre-right and, in the last few days, we have also started working with Federico Bernardeschi in that role. When a team concedes a few goals it's not always the fault of the defenders." [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News|ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW "][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] "I don't think we protect the defence well. We've done a lot of work on the midfield's movements. Rabiot from a physical point of view now looks good. He's got good feedback in both training and his matches lately. He leaves us with a feeling that he has even greater potential, and that he has started on that path." Having earned 42 points from 17 games this season so far, Juve is currently sitting on the second position in the points table. Inter Milan is ahead of the defending champions only on goal difference.