Kolo Muani set to arrive at Juve as Milan looms
Thiago Motta was delighted with Juventus's acquisition of Randal Kolo Muani from Paris Saint-Germain and says he hopes the player is available to face AC Milan.
Kolo Muani had been linked with Juventus throughout the January transfer window, and while no official contract details have been revealed by either club yet, he is expected to join on loan until the end of the season.
The forward has made 14 appearances for PSG in all competitions this season but only started two of those games. He has scored twice off the bench, with both goals coming in the first three games of the campaign, and also provided one assist.
"I am happy with the arrival of Kolo Muani," Motta said.
"We are just waiting for some final pieces of paperwork to complete the transfer. If everything goes to plan, he will be with us tomorrow, otherwise, we will have him from the next match
"I expect everything from Randal both on and off the pitch. I asked him to train well, work well and do everything he has to do to be available. I asked him, I ask all my players."
Juventus will be bolstered in attack by the return of Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic, who is the club's top scorer in Serie A this season with seven goals.
"Vlahovic will be with the group tomorrow, he has trained well over the last few days," Motta said.
"Dusan has been left out of the last two games in order to give him time to recover, but, as I said, he will be in the squad for the match against AC Milan."
The Turin-based side will still be without defenders Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal, as well as strikers Arkadiusz Milik and Francisco Conceicao, but otherwise it has a fully fit squad.
Juventus remains unbeaten in Serie A this season, but it has struggled of late with just one win from its past eight league games and a record number of draws.
It has drawn 13 of its matches, including each of the past three while dropping points from leading positions, leaving it fifth on the standings, three points above Milan.
"We definitely want to stay [within the reach of] the Champions League zone," Motta said.
"Tomorrow we have an important opportunity to play at home against Milan... Obviously, tomorrow the championship will not end [but we need to be] at the maximum: focused, motivated, to put in a great performance to get the victory."
