Kevin Strootman has signed a new contract with Genoa and is looking forward to his return to Serie A. Strootman expects it to be a tough season for I Rossoblu.
Strootman explains choice for Genoa and looks forward to return to Serie A
Kevin Strootman was in the picture with old love Sparta Rotterdam, but opted for a longer stay at Genoa, for which he came out on a rental basis last season. After his transfer-free departure from Olympique Marseille, the midfielder signed a one-year contract with Genoa.
“Why did I sign here? Because I feel at home in Genoa. I also let my agent know that I wanted to stay here,” Strootman told Tuttosport. “It’s going to be a tough season. Last season we gave everything to return to Serie A, but we will probably lose more games than win now.”
“I’m sure we will do everything we can to have a good season. We have to adjust our mentality after last season, we were often afraid to take risks with a 1-0 lead. We will now compete against better quality teams. Fortunately, we have a lot of guys with Serie A experience,” said Strootman.
The former player of Sparta, FC Utrecht, PSV and AS Roma, among others, meets an old acquaintance in Serie A with Rudi Garcia. Garcia was Strootman’s trainer at Roma and Marseille and has recently joined the group at Napoli. “I think it’s great that Rudi has been given this opportunity. He is a great coach and a great person. I hope he will do well in Naples, except in the two games against Genoa,” he concluded.
Lukaku on Italian front pages: “Juventus proposes swap deal”
The future of Romelu Lukaku is a hot topic in Italy. Also on Sunday, the Belgian striker from Chelsea will find himself on the front pages of the most important sports newspapers in the country.
Thirty-year-old Lukaku played on loan for Internazionale last season, which would like to take over the attacker from Chelsea permanently. However, a transfer fee can become a problem: after all, Chelsea paid 115 million euros two years ago to bring in the Belgian. How much loss are they willing to accept now?
Juventus are also interested in Lukaku. Chelsea, on the other hand, is interested in Dusan Vlahovic, so Corriere dello Sport is speculating about an exchange deal: if Chelsea is willing to pay an additional €25 million, Lukaku and Vlahovic can switch clubs.
If Inter and Chelsea do not come together, Lukaku can always opt for the big money in Saudi Arabia. After all, Al-Hilal also likes to see the Belgian top scorer come.
