Chiellini: ‘Juventus negotiations with En-Nesyri are over, we cannot buy him’
Juventus director Giorgio Chiellini confirms Youssef En-Nesyri has rejected the transfer from Fenerbache. ‘We cannot buy him outright, so for us the negotiations are over.’
The clash with Napoli kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s Serie A games on the Liveblog.
They had expected to bring En-Nesyri back from Istanbul today ahead of a medical, ready to make the move on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season.
Instead, last night director Marco Ottolini flew back to Turin alone amid reports En-Nesyri was unsure about the move. What is the situation?
“The situation is pretty clear,” Chiellini told Sky Sport Italia.
“We went to speak to the player, he expressed a few doubts on the formula of the transfer, so for us right now the negotiations are over. We cannot and do not want to buy him outright.
“We’ll see over the next few days if there are any developments or other opportunities, but for us it is over.”
Juventus ready for Napoli showdown
The Bianconeri have had a mixed week, as while they fell further behind the top four with a 1-0 Serie A defeat to Cagliari, their Champions League ambitions were boosted by the 2-0 victory over Jose Mourinho’s Benfica.
“There is great hunger to get on the pitch and try to win the game, knowing it will be difficult against the Champions of Italy,” added Chiellini.
“We have been building something in recent weeks, and on Wednesday we won against a good European team, so we are building one brick at a time and hope to enjoy a great match with these wonderful fans.”
It is always a grudge match between these clubs, but it can also never be a normal one for Luciano Spalletti, who has a tattoo on his arm marking the Scudetto triumph at Napoli.
Antonio Conte is also facing his old club, and has an injury crisis to deal with that has ruled out eight players, so will that fire Napoli up even more?
“He doesn’t need extra motivation, Napoli have the desire to win, aware of their own strengths and ours too. This game goes beyond any other motivation you can seek.”
Dusan Vlahovic, Daniele Rugani and Arek Milik are still out of action, but Francisco Conceicao steps into the starting XI rather than Fabio Miretti.
Kenan Yildiz is the real talent of the Juventus squad, so what is it like watching him in training?
“Yildiz has a technique, control, dribbling skills and pace that have all improved so much in recent years. He is able to run at players and keep control of the ball, he is scoring goals and providing assists this season. It’s true that because of his age, he has so much more potential, but is already a very strong player.”