Juventus Transfer News and Rumours Tracker: Week of November 17
The international break provides time for club sides to pause and reflect on their campaigns thus far. For some, that means making a coaching change as they seek improvement, a course of action taken by Inter on Friday.
While the Nerazzurri have replaced Walter Mazzarri with Roberto Mancini, rivals Juventus are enjoying a much more serene moment. Three points clear atop Serie A, Massimiliano Allegri has finally started to make an imprint of his own on the reigning champions.
A number of issues—discussed in detail here—still need to be addressed by the coach, but he can look back on a successful tenure to date. With his change to a back four complete, talk has turned to who the club may sign in January in order to improve the options available to Allegri in his new system.
Over the following pages is a look at the latest news and rumours surrounding the Turin giants, updated daily to keep you fully informed of developments as they happen.
*UPDATED FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21*
Manchester City Monitoring Stephan Lichtsteiner
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Stephan Lichtsteiner is being monitored by Manchester City according to a report in Italy. According to Sky Italia (h/t Forza Italian Football), the 30-year-old is wanted by the current Premier League champions when his Juventus contract expires in June 2015.
However, it is believed the Swiss international is set to sign a new deal with the Bianconeri and would reject any proposed offer to move to England.
Fabian Schar Happy to Be Linked to Juventus
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Fabian Schar has refused to rule out leaving current club Basel in January and discussed reported interest in him from Juventus. The Swiss defender's contract expires next summer and he discussed the situation with CalcioMercato.it, telling them (h/t Football Italia):
"It is certainly very gratifying to know that an important club like Juventus thought of me for their defence, Serie A is very important with some very strong teams. It’s a very interesting tournament that any player would like to measure himself up against.
I won’t rule it out. In football, as in life, anything is possible. At this moment I am concentrated on doing well with Basel. In January we’ll see what happens.
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Gigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini Sign New Contracts
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Juventus have announced that Gigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini have signed new contracts, both players current deals having been set to expire next summer. At a press conference on Thursday, the Bianconeri revealed goalkeeper had signed a two-year extension, running until June 2017.
At the same time (h/t Football Italia), Chiellini put pen to paper on a three-year package, tying him to the reigning Serie A champions until 2018.
No Rush over New Contract for Carlos Tevez
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The agent of Carlos Tevez insists there is no rush to sign a new contract with Juventus, believing the two parties should bide their time. Speaking to the Le10Sport website, Kia Joorabchian explained that view, telling them (h/t Football Italia):
"Carlos has another year and half on his Juventus contract. The best thing to do is to manage this situation carefully, and take things step-by-step.
"
When the time is right we’ll sit at the table with [Juventus director general Beppe] Marotta and talk about the possibility of a contract extension.
No January Transfer for Sebastian Giovinco
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With his contract set to expire this summer, Sebastian Giovinco has admitted his future may lie away from Juventus. He spoke to Sky Italia shortly after Italy’s win over Albania on Tuesday, clearly frustrated at a lack of playing time with the club.
“There’s something wrong, that’s obvious,” he said (h/t Football Italia). “The whole season has been a bit like that, so we’ll see what to do.”
“I don’t think I’ll move in January, we’ll see in June,” he added. The 27-year-old has made just two starts for the Bianconeri this term.
Four Serie a Clubs Pursue Xherdan Shaqiri
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Xherdan Shaqiri has once again been linked with a move away, Gianluca Di Marzio reporting no fewer than four Serie A clubs are interested in the winger. Writing on his own website, the Italian transfer expert believes Juventus, Inter, Roma and Napoli will seek to sign 23-year-old in January.
The player has clearly stated his unhappiness at a lack of playing time this season, having made just three league starts thus far. In an interview with Blick this week, Shaqiri spoke openly about his future, telling them (h/t Football Italia):
"I thought that after the World Cup it would have been better for me to try something new, I thought of moving and there were several enquiries. But Bayern decided I had to stay and I couldn’t do much else.
Everyone knows though, that I want to play more. I’ll talk with Bayern again, and we’ll sit down and talk over the winter. But I really feel I’ll never be a starter, even if I score in every game.
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Alessandro Del Piero Will Return to Italy Sooner or Later
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Alessandro Del Piero has admitted he will always be connected to Juventus, pondering his eventual return to Italy. Having left the club two years ago, the former captain has enjoyed spells in Australia and India, but believes his return to the peninsula is inevitable.
“I always want my memories of Juve to be good ones,” Del Piero said in an interview with Radio RAI (h/t Football Italia). “What I experienced at Juventus was amazing and unique, and that’s what remains.
“The relationship with Juve will always be wonderful, [but] I don’t know what will happen in the future. I will return to Italy sooner or later, I miss Italy,” the 40-year-old continued. “Aside from talk of possible roles, my relationship with Juve will never change, it’s a strong bond and it will be that way forever.”
Juventus Hope for Andrea Barzagli Comeback
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Juventus are looking for squad reinforcements in January, but hope Andrea Barzagli will eventually return from injury. The defender has yet to feature this season due to problems with his heel, calf and Achilles, with no timetable given for his recovery.
With the Bianconeri looking at possible replacements, Beppe Marotta insisted the club has not given up on the Italian international. “We’re monitoring him,” the director general told reporters at an event hosted by La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday (h/t Football Italia).
“We think he can return, even if we’re looking to increase the quality of the squad in January.”
Juventus Look to Manchester City’s Matija Nastasic
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With Barzagli’s injury worries continuing, Matija Nastasic has emerged as a target for Juventus. According to La Stampa, the Manchester City defender is seen as a possible January acquisition.
The 21-year-old has yet to make an appearance this term, leading the Turin-based newspaper (h/t Football Italia) to believe he could be available for around €5m.
Beppe Marotta Discusses Not Selling Buffon, Chiellini and Vidal
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Beppe Marotta gave a lengthy interview to TuttoSport this weekend, discussing a variety of subjects with the Turin-based newspaper. In it, the Juventus director general revealed that both Gigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini recently turned down opportunities to move abroad.
“When Buffon renewed his contract, he had a wage proposal from a foreign club worth €10m net! Gigi actually cut his wages to continue with us,” Marotta said (h/t Football Italia). “The same is true of Chiellini, who over the summer had the opportunity to go abroad with a substantial contract but decided to renew with us.”
He also discussed the endless speculation linking Arturo Vidal with a move to Old Trafford. “We didn’t want to give Vidal to Manchester United, end of story,” he added. “Besides, our rapport with his agent, Fernando Felicevich, is good.”
Kingsley Coman Happy to Wait for Playing Time
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Kingsley Coman insists that a lack of appearances for Juventus does not concern him, and the French forward is confident he will earn the playing time he needs. The 18-year-old—who has made just three appearances for the Bianconeri thus far—discussed the issue with L’Equipe and told them (h/t Forza Italian Football):
"It’s true that lately I have had little space in the team, but it isn’t a problem. I work hard in training but this is only normal in this situation, and I only need 10 to 15 minutes in a game to show myself.
The coach isn’t there just to please me, and the goal for this season is to make 15 to 20 appearances.
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Paul Pogba Insists New Contract Is Only the Beginning
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Speaking on international duty, Paul Pogba has insisted his new Juventus contract is only the starting point in his career. The French midfielder recently signed a deal to remain at the club until June 2019 and believes Juventus Stadium is the ideal place for him to improve, telling a press conference (h/t Football Italia):
"I am happy to have signed, but it doesn’t end here. I want more. I will keep my feet on the ground, but I want to win the Euros and the Champions League,
I want to become a great player and the contract with Juventus will allow me to grow and reach my objectives. Many great French players have come through Juventus, as this is a huge club and we can win together.
We might not be Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, but we have the players to achieve something important.
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Juventus Discuss Selling Giovinco, Gabbiadini and Zaza
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In an interview with TuttoSport, Beppe Marotta discussed Juve’s options in attack, starting with Sebastian Giovinco. Asked if the striker could join Torino, the club’s director general insisted the player's future is his to decide.
“We had to some contacts to see if there are the premises to extend his contract on our terms,” Marotta said (h/t Gianluca Di Marzio). “If we’ll do that fine, otherwise...Giovinco needs to tell us what he wants to do. We didn’t receive any request from Torino, now or in the summer.”
He went on to discuss the futures of two players the Bianconeri co-own, comparing the situation to that of Ciro Immobile, who was sold to Borussia Dortmund last summer:
"We know that these are expensive deals, we’ll make some choices. An operation like the Immobile one, whom we never managed directly and where we made money, mustn’t be overlooked.
We could sell one between [Simone] Zaza and [Manolo] Gabbiadini, for instance.
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Atalanta Want Andrea Schiavone in January
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Atalanta are reportedly interested in signing Juventus youth product Andrea Schiavone in January. The 21-year-old is currently on loan at Modena, but TuttoMercatoWeb (h/t Forza Italian Football) believes the Bergamo club are confident of agreeing a deal.
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