Melbourne, July 19 (IANS) Juventus central midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah believes that the Italian football champions have plenty of reasons to be optimistic ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.
The Ghanaian is confident that the blend of quality and experience in the squad will enable the Bianconeri to scale new heights as they bid to win a sixth consecutive Seria A title and kick on in the UEFA Champions League.
Juventus are here for the International Champions Cup, a pre-season tournament. Atletico, Tottenham Hotspur and Melbourne Victory will also play in the tournament.
"Melbourne's a lovely city and we're training intensely, as we've been doing recently in Turin. I feel in excellent shape and hope I can enjoy a good season, which, by working hard, I'm sure I'll manage," Asamoah told the club's website on Monday.
"We're gearing up for Serie A, which we want to win, but also for Europe, where we want to show our strength."
The 27-year-old said the team looked even stronger than it was last season which saw Juventus claimed fifth consecutive Serie A title. They also won second Coppa Italia title.
Juventus have already signed veteran Brazilian right-back Dani Alves on a free transfer, Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic from Roma for 32 million euros ($35.9 million) and Moroccan defender Medhi Benatia on loan from Bayern Munich.
They are in hunt for a striker as Alvaro Morata left for Real Madrid last month.
Croatian winger Marko Pjaca is also reportedly will join Juventus from Dinamo Zagreb as a replacement for Juan Cuadrado, whose loan stay has ended and is back to Chelsea.
"The team's even stronger than it was last season," he said.
"We've brought in players with quality and experience who will be able to make a strong contribution."
--IANS
ac/pur/dg
