Tiago Djalo opened up about his ambitions at Juventus, his role on the pitch and the title race with Inter this season.
The 23-year-old Portuguese centre back officially signed for the Bianconeri at the start of this week, joining the club from Lille in a definitive transfer worth around €5m total. He penned a two-and-a-half-year contract in Turin, with an option for a further two years.
Djalo hasn’t played a match in over 300 days, having suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the start of March last year. He’s close to reaching match fitness and will complete his recovery with Juventus before slotting into Massimiliano Allegri’s squad.
Speaking at his unveiling press conference, Djalo first discussed his first few days with Juventus.
“I’m very happy, they’re a quality team with a very strong coach and I think I can learn a lot with them.
“I arrived now, and I feel very good, the team are strong and I like how they play. It’s easier for me to learn this way, I wanted to play here because it’s different from the French league. I will give everything for the team.”
He was asked why he decided to join the Bianconeri instead of Inter.
“I felt that Juventus gave me a great opportunity, this is a club with a lot of history and I think I did well to sign with Juve.”
The 23-year-old touched on his physical condition.
“I feel good, my knee is good. Now it’s a question of opportunity, I’m ready and I will give everything for the team. I can play on the left, right, in the middle.”
Djalo spoke about the comparisons between himself and Fikayo Tomori.
“With Tomori we are a little different, but I respect that. There are a lot of quality defenders, I liked Lilian Thuram, he played on the right and left and I’m like him.”
He commented on the tense title race with rivals Inter.
“We have to do a good job. We have a quality league, we want to win and we have to do everything. It’s important to play every match well and I think we have the qualities to win the title.”
The 23-year-old discussed a conversation he had with Timothy Weah.
“He called me and told me that here was a quality team. I knew it, I came here because I felt that Juve had a strategy. Weah was important but nothing changed.”
He spoke about his friend Rafael Leao’s reaction to his move to Juventus.
“He is happy for me, I have known him for a long time, I played with him in Portugal. If I have the opportunity to play against him, I will give everything to do well.”
The Portuguese defender commented on his early work with Allegri.
“He gave me confidence, he knows me well. I know how the team plays but I still have to learn, this morning I spoke with him, and I learned some things I didn’t know because here we play differently than in France.”
He was asked which Bianconeri teammate had helped the most so far.
“I spoke a lot with Danilo, we speak the same language and he played with many people I know. Even Alex Sandro. We play in the same position, and he told me what to do. The whole team wants to help me, and I feel good.”
He explained why he chose the number 33 shirt number.
“In Lille I played with the number 3, here Bremer has that number, so I thought about adding another 3.”
Finally, Djalo was asked if he’d be part of the Juventus squad for their coming game with Empoli.
“I feel good, I worked yesterday and today with the team. The coach decides, I’m calm, we have to wait and see.”
Alle 15:00 la conferenza stampa di presentazione di Tiago Djaló, LIVE su Juventus TV 👇
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) January 25, 2024
Update: No, you can’t.