Jean Lucas: "It's a new challenge"
He’s barely arrived and he’s already an important part of the team. Despite only joining from Olympique Lyonnais on August 2, Jean Lucas has already played two Ligue 1 matches in an AS Monaco jersey. Both as holders, against Nantes (1-1) then Lorient (1-0). Officially presented on Monday, the Brazilian midfielder looked back at his debut in the Monegasque jersey.
A measure of revenge
Last season I was able to go on loan to Brest, where I had some playing time, and I was able to regain confidence, get back to playing my style of football. Today I am in Monaco, at a big club, where I can continue my progress and I want to do the maximum to help the club aim as high as possible. It’s a new challenge. When I understood that I had this chance, it was clear, I wanted to come here. It’s a new sporting challenge as well as one for my personal life; that’s why I decided to join AS Monaco.
Making his debut with the club
I’ve already had the opportunity to play two matches so I am very happy even though we didn’t get the results we wanted. The objective is to continue to have playing time and I would once again like to thank the Vice-President and General Manager and the Sporting Director for their confidence in me.
The playoffs against Shakhtar
I know a lot of Brazilian players who play there. They’re a good team, but so are we. It’s a tough match but everyone is working hard to reach the goal of qualifying for the Champions League. All matches matter, even if tomorrow’s game is still more important than the others. It is a great challenge that awaits us. I can tell you that we are all ready. Everyone is motivated to record a good result. We will do our utmost to deliver a good performance and hopefully take a step towards qualifying.
Oleg Petrov, Vice-President and CEO
“The players we have recruited are very talented, they have a lot of quality Jean Lucas has already played in Ligue 1, he knows the French league, he is a high quality player, who is quick, and we are very happy to have him with us. ”
Paul Mitchell, Sporting Director
“Jean is a player that the scouting team, our technical staff, Niko and I have been following for several seasons. He impressed us with Brest last season but we have been aware of him since he made his debut in Brazil. He has shown maturity and talent from an early age. Recruiting a player like Jean is never easy, it was a lot of work, but we are delighted that he wants to be a part of our project. He will bring us, in addition to his quality, a level of versatility. He can play as a number six, as he did in the last two games, and also as an 8 or 10. This is very important to us.”
