The agent of Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro has confirmed that there has been concrete interest in his signature from the Premier League.
Italian daily Gazetta Dello Sport reported last week that West Ham United had submitted a £11.3m bid for the ball-winner, which was followed by a £12.8m bid by Southampton.
But after Juventus apparently rejected both approaches, Sturaro’s agent Carlo Volpi has told TuttoMercatoWeb (as reported by ForzaItalianFootball) that the claimed desire to sign his client is indeed true and that there is further interest from other clubs.
Volpi confirms Saints and Hammers bids
Volpi told TMW that the rumours are "all true" and said that the main interest has come after the midfielder’s impressive performance against Manchester City in the Champions League.
However it does not seem likely that the U21 international will move in the January transfer window, as Juventus have made it clear that the player will not move, as reported by Gazetta Dello Sport.
But the interest from within Serie A has all been "intending to ask him on loan", whereas the English interest is more about signing Sturaro permanently because of what Volpi says are “economic resources that are much higher than in Italy”.
Chelsea were apparently interested when Jose Mourinho was in charge at Stamford Bridge, but with the Portuguese manager no longer at the Blues, that interest has seemingly gone away.
Juventus keen to see Sturaro grow
With Sturaro set to stay at the Juventus Stadium, Volpi says that the Old Lady are very interested in how far the 22-year-old can progress in terms of his potential, after signing him from Genoa for around £5.6m in the summer of 2014.
Volpi also added that the transfer rumours have not affected Sturaro, saying he is "totally focused" at Juventus and wants to prove he is an "important player at the club", and is totally "happy living in Turin".