´Young players can only learn from them´ – Szczesny welcomes Pogba and Di Maria Juve arrival

Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is hoping that summer arrivals Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria will have a beneficial impact on the squad’s younger players.

Pogba and Di Maria both arrived on free transfers after their contracts ran out at Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively.

France international Pogba is returning to the club where he previously played between 2012 and 2016, winning Serie A titles in all four of his seasons with the Turin outfit.

In 2016, he became the world’s most expensive player after United paid a fee of £89million (€105m) to bring him to Manchester, but he is now back with the Italian side after a disappointing six-year spell in England.

Di Maria also had an unsuccessful period with United before signing for PSG, where he spent seven years until making the move to the Bianconeri earlier this month.

Speaking to Sky Sport on the new arrivals’ potential influence, Szczesny said: “Two highly experienced players have joined us and many young players can only learn from them.

“In addition to this, they have an incredible quality and their contribution on the pitch will be important. I really hope they can give us a hand.”

@paulpogba penning and selfieing #JuveOnTheRoad pic.twitter.com/K2XLd5MmNi

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 25, 2022

The Poland international was speaking from Juventus’ pre-season training camp in the United States off the back of a 2-0 friendly win over Chivas Guadalajara.

Szczesny’s side will take on Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid next as they prepare for the new campaign, where they will look to win their first Serie A title since the 2019-20 season.

The 32-year-old has been enthused by his team’s pre-season so far, adding: “I’m having a lot of fun, we have been missing this experience in the last two-three years due to the pandemic.

“It’s a great time to reunite with the group, work hard and have fun together.

“It will be a friendly match against Barcelona but it is always exciting to play against the best in the world.

“We have already played the first friendly in Las Vegas, now we have two games against Barcelona and Real Madrid and at this point it is nice to compete against the best teams.”