Juventus and Italy midfielder Manuel Locatelli snubbed offers from the Premier League in the summer, his agent claims.
The Italy international joined the Old Lady on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy from Sassuolo in 2021.
The Bianconeri will make his move permanent next year and will likely offer him a contract extension.
“He is an important player for the club which has always shown its appreciation. Manuel has improved a lot and his quality have emerged,” his agent Stefano Castelnuovo told Tuttosport.
“We know Manuel is in the club’s plans and we are proud of it. We’ll make our assessments at the right time with calm and serenity.
“He performs well in a two-man midfield, but he can be useful with three men in the middle of the park. He is a lad who is always available and can adapt to the coach’s requests,” continued Castelnuovo.
Locatelli had been linked with a move to Arsenal in the summer and the player’s agent confirms he had received offers from the Premier League.
“It’s true that there were some good opportunities from England last summer, but the player has a solid bond with Juventus and never thought about leaving.”
Locatelli has scored three goals in 60 appearances with the Bianconeri and has 24 international caps to his name.
He was part of the Azzurri squad that won the Euros in 2021 and scored two of his three Azzurri goals during Euro 2020.
As per Tuttosport, Juventus will offer the 24-year-old a new contract until 2027 before the end of the season.
The ex-Sassuolo midfielder has made 17 competitive appearances across all competitions this term.
Why does FI continue to be used as a mouthpiece for player agents. I mean, can we seriously take anything an agent says about their client as anything more than self-promotion? Have you ever heard an agent say something bad about their player???? What’s the point of reading what they say. In the good old days fans never read about salaries and contracts. Only the sport, the skills, the history, tradition, values. Now all we read about (at least mostly here) are salaries, contracts, renewals, broken contracts, free agents, transfer rumors, etc.