Udinese clarify Lucca transfer stance after ‘unpleasant' penalty incident
Udinese director Gianluca Nani insists that the recent penalty incident involving their striker Lorenzo Lucca was 'unpleasant' but claims the club don't want to sell the Italian striker in the summer.
Lucca argued with his teammates on the pitch on Friday, pushing to take a penalty kick, which he later converted, for a 1-0 win at the Stadio Via del Mare against Lecce.
However, his persistence in taking the penalty cost him a yellow card and forced coach Kosta Runjaić to replace the Italian forward a few minutes later.
'It was an unpleasant and unsportsmanlike incident, but it was then handled perfectly, primarily by the coach, who showed his integrity by making the substitution,' Udinese director Nanni told Il Messaggero Veneto via TMW.
'I also appreciated Bijol's reaction after the match. He apologized to all the fans, including those of Lecce, without blaming Lucca, emphasizing that he was part of the group.'
Reports in Italy suggested Udinese would put Lucca on the market in the summer, but Nanni insisted this was not the case.
'We don't want to sell him, even though we know that certain offers can change the players' perspective, making it difficult to keep them,' he said.
'Lucca made a mistake, and I'm not encouraging him to repeat it, but he also showed character by insisting on taking the penalty at all costs. A player like that, I'd have him play in a Champions League final.'
Lucca has scored 10 goals in 25 Serie A appearances this season, providing one assist as well.
Lautaro Martinez has scored the same number of league goals this term, and only Mateo Retegui, Moise Kean, Marcus Thuram, and Ademola Lookman have more.
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