Juventus still looking at Llorente, reveals Marotta

Giuseppe Marotta has insisted that Juventus are looking to bring in suitable players when the transfer window re-opens in the new year, including Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente.

The 57-year-old spent the summer trying to land the signature of a top-class centre-forward but were thwarted in their attempts to sign Robin van Persie, Stevan Jovetic and the Spain international.

The Italian champions did manage to sign Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner on loan from Arsenal but Marotta is still hoping to further bolster their attack.

“We are continuing to monitor interesting players and we will decide whether to make any moves in January,” he told reporters.

“We have looked for players with a certain profile and Jovetic fits that, but he is a Fiorentina player and the Viola will decide his future. Llorente? We are continuing to work.

“The first judgements from Conte on Bendtner are very positive. He is a youngster who wants to do well.”

However, Marotta dismissed reports that the Turin side were interested in signing Lazio centre-back Modibo Diakite, after the Senegalese star refused to sign a new contract at Stadio Olimpico.

“There are usually a lot of bombastic headlines about us and we get linked with moves that I can categorically deny.

“For example, we have not talked to Diakite. He is a Lazio player and will not be coming to Juventus.”

Juve coach Antonio Conte is currently serving a 10-month ban for failing to report match-fixing activities, but Marotta is optimistic that the former Siena boss’ upcoming appeal will be successful.

“We are very optimistic about the TNAS hearing,” he revealed.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.