Juventus do not expect to sign Angelo Palombo and Giampaolo Pazzini but are closing in on Simone Pepe.
Marotta plays down talk of landing Samp pair
Juventus director general Beppe Marotta has played down reports linking the club with Sampdoria pair Angelo Palombo and Giampaolo Pazzini, but is confident of signing Udinese winger Simone Pepe.
Palombo and Pazzini have both impressed over the past 12 months to help Samp qualify for the UEFA Champions League and earn call-ups to the Italy World Cup squad.
Marotta admits that Juve did enquire as to their availability but were told quite clearly that Sampdoria had no desire to sell.
"Palombo and Pazzini are two excellent players, as proved by the fact they are in the Nazionale going to South Africa," he told
Sky Sport Italia.
"However, president Riccardo Garrone said Sampdoria are not a supermarket, so we do not want to alter their strategy.
"I do not expect these two players will be part of the Juventus squad in 2010/11."
Pepe and Dzeko
Udinese winger Pepe has indicated his desire to join Juve and Marotta expects a deal to go through.
"The transfer is not yet finalised," he said. "It's true we are at an advanced stage of negotiations, I'd say almost final, but we cannot make it official yet."
Juventus are also continuing to monitor the progress of Wolfsburg forward Edin Dzeko, who has been linked with many top clubs including Manchester City.
"Edin Dzeko is an excellent striker and it's no wonder he has attracted interest from the world's top clubs," said Marotta.
"This means the Wolfsburg forward is a genuine talent."
Marotta does not think there will be a mass exodus at Juve despite Luigi Del Neri coming in as manager after such a disappointing campaign.
"I think that many players will remain," he said. "We must not let ourselves be swayed by the performances of the last season, because we are still talking about players of the highest level."
