Udinese technical director Federico Balzaretti has insisted that he and his colleagues fully intend to keep star midfielder Lazar Samardzic on board until the end of the season, despite recent suggestions he could be set to move to Juventus as early as January.
Wednesday morning’s reports from Tuttosport outlined that Juve sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli has identified Samardzic as the ideal candidate to come in and bolster Max Allegri;s midfield options in the middle of the park.
Following the suspensions of Paul Pogba after his failed doping test and Nicolo Fagioli after his involvement in illegal gambling, Allegri would like another established option in central midfield.
Tuttosport suggested that Juventus could reach an agreement with Udinese as early as January for an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy clause for a total package of around €30m.
However, Udinese director Balzaretti, speaking before kick-off in the Coppa Italia Round of 32 match against Cagliari, has insisted that the team would like to keep hold of Samardzic for as long as possible, at least until the end of the 2023-24 season.
He told SportMediaset: “He is a boy that we absolutely intend to keep until the end of the season. He has so much value for us and he still needs to mature and find balance and consistency.
Balzaretti continued: “He is an extraordinary talent, one we enjoy and hope to enjoy for as long as possible. At the end of the year we will make some evaluations, but we will talk about that later.”