Douglas Costa confirms Juventus stay with Sarri blessing

Douglas Costa is “certain” he will be a Juventus player next season as he is relishing the opportunity to work with Maurizio Sarri.

The 28-year-old has seen his name heavily associated with Paris Saint-Germain over the past few days, but the Brazilian has cooled interest.

Is Costa staying at Juve? Five things to know…

• Costa made just seven Serie A starts in 2018/19 as injury problems hampered his season.
• Massimiliano Allegri recently stepped down as Juve coach with Sarri taking the helm.
• Costa has been linked with a move to PSG, with new sporting director Leonardo reportedly interested.
• It has also emerged that Costa could be used in a player-plus-cash exchange deal with Man Utd for Paul Pogba.
• But the Brazil international has now proclaimed he is “certain” of a Juventus stay.

https://audioboom.com/posts/7291399-man-utd-s-galaxy-brain-move-trade-pogba-for-two-real-madrid-midfielders

There are doubts surrounding the future of Neymar at the Parc des Princes, and so Thomas Tuchel may very well need to bolster his forward line, but the German tactician will have to steer clear of Turin after Costa announced his commitment to recently-appointed Sarri.

“I don’t know Sarri personally, but I saw the work he did for Napoli,” he told reporters.

“He had a fantastic season and I think we’ll do great things together. I have three years left on my contract and I’m certain that I will stay in Turin.

“Now it’s a new era as we have a new coach.”

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‘Next season may be the toughest yet’

With Serie A dominance being par for the course at the Allianz Stadium, the pressure for Sarri to deliver will be astronomical, and Costa believes he may be entering one of the most difficult seasons for many a year.

Both Milan clubs and Roma will have new managers in charge come the start of the campaign – Antonio Conte for Inter and Marco Giampaolo for the Rossoneri – while Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli will no doubt be a stronger proposition.

Reflecting on the competitiveness of the forthcoming season, Costa had some reservations about clinching a ninth-straight Scudetto.

“Each year Serie A gets more difficult,” he continued.

“With Antonio Conte at Inter and Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli, next season will be even tougher, but we’ll do our best to improve too, especially in the Champions League, which is our objective.”