Urbano Cairo has urged Alessio Cerci to determine his Torino future, whilst he reflects on Ciro Immobile and Matteo Darmian.
Urbano Cairo has urged Alessio Cerci to determine his Torino future, whilst he reflects on Ciro Immobile and Matteo Darmian.
Cerci has been the subject of continued speculation this summer, with Milan, Roma and Atletico Madrid all linked with making a move for the winger.
For his club President, key to the saga may be the player’s own determination.
“Yes I have said that I want to keep him, but also that he wants to stay,” Cairo has told TorinoGranata.it this week.
“I want very much for him to stay with us, we are fond of him and he is a great player. But equally I hold equally to the fact that he is persuaded to stay.
“Have we received offers? These are things we will keep confidential. Evidently, the player is liked.
“Is there a deadline to any deal? He has just returned and I have not seen him yet nor even welcomed him.
“What if an important offer arrives? Let’s say that we have not decided on any reasoning, I repeat, he has just returned, we have not yet seen him and I want to hear and talk to him and then we will work out our approach to the case.”
Cairo was again pressed on giving Torino fans a clearer answer on the player’s future.
“Let’s see, there are no longer any new things to say about Cerci that we have not already spoken about, we have said it all.
“The line is always the same – I want to keep the player given that it is his idea also to stay. If that is not the case, we will negotiate well.
“Certianly Cerci has suitors, but he is an important player and if I ever wanted to sell him it would have to be for an accurate assessment.
“Hearing and seeing the valuations for other players, that I have put on Cerci is not exaggerated.”
Earlier this summer Toro agreed with Juventus to sell the co-owned Ciro Immobile to Borussia Dortmund for €19m.
“Although we have talked about this many times, I did not want to sell at that price. Unfortunately the player was not totally mine.
“We always talk about the same things, let me ask the questions…
“The first thing I said was that I did not want to sell the player. The second thing, not at that price. Third, he was not entirely my own, so could not go to war. Juve had a different idea of Immobile, the player very much wanted to go to Borussia Dortmund and as a result it became difficult to keep him.”
Matteo Darmian is another name linked with leaving the Granata.
“I do not think to sell Darmian, nor Cerci. I reluctantly had to sell Immobile.
“After the World Cup there were clubs in for Darmian? That does not mean that I want to or can sell him.”
Cairo was talking after attending Torino’s pre-season defeat to Rubin Kazan.
“We did not need to find out about Quagliarella here, but anyhow he did well. I am happy to see him in the Granata shirt, it’s a good feeling.
“When I arrived in 2005 he left because he could not wait any longer and, in fact, when I spoke to him I told him that I had finally regained him after nine years.
“The performance? The first half was great and then they are ahead of us in preparation as their championship will start on August 1.
“The team that was fielded did well, they played at speed, I have to say that I saw many good things and we also have to admit that the Russians got their goal from a corner.
“My attendance? I wanted to see the team. Again, the first half they did well, with nice play and creating a lot. Then the Russians have found that goal, they are a good team, one of the five or six most important in Russia.”