Krstović: Atalanta wanted me the most, I hope to debut this weekend

He wore the black and blue jersey for the first time on Wednesday evening when he signed to put an end to his move to Atalanta from Lecce, and he could introduce himself to the fans in Bergamo for the first time on Sunday.

Nikola Krstović is the new player of the 2024 Europa League winners, and this season, in addition to the Champions League, he also faces a battle for the top of Serie A. He hopes to be able to start those battles from the first round when "La Dea" will welcome Pisa.

"I would honestly like to, but it's up to coach Ivan Jurić and his coaching staff to decide. It's up to me to train and work as best as possible and give my best and not worry about whether I'll play more or less," Krstović told Sportske.net.

According to Italian media, Atalanta paid 25 million euros plus bonuses for Krstović. Ever since February, when Lecce announced that it would be difficult to keep the "falcon" striker, there have been many links with clubs. In the end, the decision fell on the "nerazure" from Bergamo.

"Yes, there was a lot of interest, both from Italy and abroad, but I wanted to stay on the Apennine Peninsula, while some teams that contacted me from abroad were interesting. However, Atalanta wanted me the most. I easily reached an agreement with the people from the club, I gave them my word and told them not to worry. I didn't want to change my word because with us, a word is more valuable than anything else," explained Krstović.

For a long time, it seemed that the former Zeta, Red Star, Dunajska Streda and Lecce striker would follow in the footsteps of the first Montenegrin captain Mirko Vučinić, who moved from "Via del Marea" to Roma.

"He gave me a lot of advice, told me to go somewhere where I could make a name for myself as soon as possible. He gives me advice every day because we work together and in the national team. However, he wanted me to choose what was best for me. That's how it was when I came to Lecce. He was there for me every day for these two years, he helped my family and me a lot, he's also there in the national team and I'm very grateful to him. I'm happy to have worked with him and to have learned a lot," says Krstović.

In Atalanta, they will play with several players from this area.

"Lazar Samardžić came to pick me up at the hotel on the first day. What more can we say about that? Not just anyone does that. There's Mario Pašalić, there's Berat Đimšiti, Sead Kolašinac... Those are our guys from the Balkans who I've been good with since before. And the others joined right away. Everyone is focused on work, not a peep is heard in training and everything is as it should be."

Everything surprised him a little.

"I'm so happy. At first I didn't even know what hit me, but now that the emotions have settled down I can say that I'm overjoyed that I chose Atalanta as my new destination," concluded Krstović.