Zenit St Petersburg claim Juventus target Axel Witsel “appreciated” the contract renewal proposed to him.
The midfielder was all set to join Juve on transfer deadline day and sat in the club HQ for 13 hours waiting for a signal that never arrived.
“Finding a suitable replacement a few hours before the transfer market closed was an almost impossible task,” director general Maksim Mitrofanov told Itasportpress.
Zenit St Petersburg claim Juventus target Axel Witsel “appreciated” the contract renewal proposed to him.
The midfielder was all set to join Juve on transfer deadline day and sat in the club HQ for 13 hours waiting for a signal that never arrived.
“Finding a suitable replacement a few hours before the transfer market closed was an almost impossible task,” director general Maksim Mitrofanov told Itasportpress.
Witsel’s contract is due to expire in June 2017 and Juventus director Beppe Marotta already said the move was “only delayed” and not abandoned.
“The club intends to extend his contract,” insisted Mitrofanov. “If he does leave, it will be purely down to his decision. We already formulated an offer, which the player appreciated.
“For the moment we only know that Witsel does not intend to move from here until his contract expires. He is a professional, so regardless of a renewal, we know that we can count on him to the end.”
Juventus had struck a deal for the Belgium international worth €18m plus €3m bonuses.
As he’ll soon be out of contract, Witsel could begin negotiations in January and join Juve as a free agent next summer.