Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri says Paul Pogba is “happy to stay” with the Italian side despite interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The Frenchman had a superb season for Juve and has been linked with Barcelona and Manchester City this summer. However, Allegri says that Pogba is not seeking a move.
“Juventus don’t need to sell Pogba,” he told Sky Sports Italia.
“I’ve talked with Pogba and he told me he is happy to stay in Turin. He is young – I think he needs to remain with Juventus in order to grow.”
Liverpool switch focus to Llorente
Liverpool have given up hope of signing Christian Benteke after refusing to meet the £32.5 million release clause in the Aston Villa striker’s contract but now have turned their attentions to Juve’s Fernando Llorente.
Llorente is expected to be made available by the Italian champions, who are reshaping their attack this summer with the arrival of Mario Mandzukic from Atletico Madrid.
Juventus will be asking £14 million for Llorente.
Liverpool are determined to add to their strike force and had targeted Benteke, having already signed Danny Ings from Burnley.
‘No chance’ Dzeko will leave Man. City
Edin Dzeko will stay at Manchester City and snub any interest from abroad, his agent Irfan Redzepagic said.
Juventus and Atletico Madrid were both thought to be keen on signing the 29-year-old.
But Redzepagic insisted there had been no approaches for his client and fully expected him to honour his current contract which has three years left to run.
Redzepagic said: “Every day he is linked to some other club: first it was Atletico, then Juventus, now Roma... These are all just rumours. I am bored of repeating that those stories are not true.”
24,000-mile trip
Liverpool will cover most miles of any Premier League club in pre-season preparation, closely followed by Manchester City.
The days of friendly matches close to home are long gone for England’s biggest clubs, keen to exploit commercial possibilities in markets like Asia, Australasia and North America.
Liverpool will play in Thailand, Australia, Malaysia and Finland between July 14-August 1.
That means flying more than 24,000 miles, according to a report which estimates Manchester City’s two matches in Melbourne will take them more than 21,000 miles.
Champions Chelsea have again chosen the US for a series of matches in July before returning home in time for the Community Shield match against Arsenal on August 2.
Ferdinand blasts player valuations
Rio Ferdinand has branded the valuations placed on young English players “a joke”.
The likes of Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane have been linked with big-money moves, with Liverpool turning down a £40m bid from Manchester City for 20-year-old Sterling.
But former England defender Ferdinand said the cost of English talent was excessive when compared to foreign players.
He said on Twitter: “English players are so overpriced right now it’s a joke! Kane & Sterling have huge potential but 40m & 50m...aguero 38m & sanchez 32m!!!”
Ferdinand became the world’s most expensive defender when he joined Manchester United from Leeds for £29.1m in 2002.
Bowles diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
Former England and Queens Park Rangers forward Stan Bowles has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We are writing this on behalf of our father Stanley Bowles. We would like it to be known that our father has unfortunately developed a form of Alzheimer’s,” said a statement.
“We would be grateful for anyone who comes in contact with our father to show some understanding of his condition.”
Bowles, 66, began his career with Manchester City but it was at QPR where he became regarded as one of English football’s great entertainers.
He played more than 300 games for the Londoners and his left-footed trickery earned him five caps for England.
Monaco set to sign striker Carrillo
Monaco have agreed a deal to sign striker Guido Carrillo from Estudiantes, according to the Argentinian club.
According to a statement on the Estudiantes website, club president Juan Sebastian Veron agreed to accept an offer worth €8.8 million for the 24-year-old.
The club added that Carrillo has likewise agreed terms with the club from the principality, but Monaco are yet to issue any statement regarding a deal.
Carrillo has scored 42 goals in 141 appearances for Estudiantes, including seven in 10 in the Copa Internacional this season.