‘Pogba, Dybala not for sale’

By Football Italia staff

Beppe Marotta warns selling Paulo Dybala “never entered Juventus’ head” and they’ll “hold on tight” to Paul Pogba.

The Bianconeri pair are two of the most promising young players in world football, and have been linked with the likes of Barcelona.

“Dybala was a conscious decision, but risky,” Marotta admitted when asked about the €40m summer signing on Gr Parlamento.

“We knew we had chosen a very important talent, able to represent the future of the club. Moving from Palermo to Juve is a big jump.

“The lad has taken that step in the best way. He can still give more, he’s one of the best players out there.

“It’s never entered Juve’s head to sell him.

“Paul Pogba? He’s a great player, he can still give a lot to the Juventus cause. When you’re young, performances can be up and down, but the fact he’s made mistakes means he has the courage to act.

“He’s an important asset for our club, and we’ll hold on tight to him.

“We’ve tried to consolidate our group more than make big profits. We rejected a €30m offer for [Simone] Zaza and €20m for [Daniele] Rugani.”

Marotta received criticism from many Juventus supporters at the start of the season, with the Old Lady starting slowly having sold Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo.

“I’ve been in football for many years, rushing to judgement is an integral part of this world. We had difficulties, above all after the loss of important players like Vidal, Pirlo and Tevez, who were difficult to replace, both in football terms and as people.

“We opted for quality players, young players, perhaps less experienced but able to represent the present and future of this team.”

Juan Cuadrado has impressed in recent weeks, having joined on loan from Chelsea this summer, is the move likely to be made permanent?

“We took a chance, taking a player on loan,” Marotta acknowledged.

“We’re considering, there’s a gentleman’s agreement with Chelsea. He’s a player who brings something different to Allegri’s team.”

Finally, Marotta discussed next week’s Champions League Last 16 showdown with Bayern Munich.

“Unlike the Champions League, the League is a stage race where the best team always wins. In the Champions League luck and chance are decisive.

“We’re facing Bayern after a long winning run [15 matches] in the League, and for the first time this season we have a team which is superior on paper [having gone top of Serie A].

“Bologna comes first though, we have to pass a test against a team which is going through a good period.”

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