Zaza determined to prove himself at Juve

Simone Zaza insists he is “ready to prove himself” at Juventus, no matter what role he is asked to play by his new club. 

The striker, who was formerly co-owned by Juve, joined the reigning Serie A champions from Sassuolo earlier this month for a fee of €18million, signing a five-year contract.

Juventus have also snapped up the forward pairing of Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala during the close-season transfer window, giving Massimiliano Allegri plenty of options despite the departure of Carlos Tevez.

Zaza is unsure if Allegri will go with a front two or three next season, though his main concern is just making sure he becomes a regular in the team.

“I don’t know if we’ll play together or not. I hope so, but we’ll see,” he said at a media conference.

“I can’t say I know [Mario] Mandzukic well, because I only trained with him for the first time [on Friday]. I’ve seen a lot of his matches though, and he’s really a poacher in the penalty area.

“As for the other players in my position, they’re all new, except Alvaro Morata. I honestly couldn’t tell you who I’m most suited to playing with.

“I already knew there’d be fierce competition for places at Juve. This doesn’t scare me, I’m ready to prove myself.

“With regard to formations, for two years I’ve played in a front three, but then since last September I started playing with a front-two for the national team.

“The important thing for me is to play.”