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Juventus forward Fernando Llorente has said he plans to stay at the Italian giants and knows nothing about the reported interest from Liverpool FC and Monaco.
Fernando Llorente found his playing time reduced at Turin as the competition for a starting place in the attacking department consisted of two players in brilliant form – Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata.
Juventus went onto win the Italian Serie A and the Coppa Italia as well as reaching the Champions League final, as Llorente mostly watched from the sidelines.
While Carlos Tevez appears set to join Boca Juniors this summer, the Italian champions have already bolstered their forward options with deals to sign Paulo Dybala from Palermo and Mario Mandzukic from Atletico Madrid. Despite that, Llorente has no plans to move on with reported interest from Premier League giants Liverpool FC and Monaco.
Llorente said: a My intention right now is to stay. I need to talk with the club, and see what they say too. For sure there are many changes, but leta s hope we can continue to do as well as we have been doing in recent years.”
a If Tevez does leave, I will be sorry as he is a great man and a great striker.a
The Sunday Telegraph had first confirmed that Liverpool FC were looking into signing the Spanish forward from Juventus alongside Carlos Bacca from Seville.
The reports said :
a There is understood to be a a 30a million (A?21.4a million) release clause in Baccaa s contract, which Sevilla say has to be met, while Juventus may try to hold out for as much as a 20a million (A?14.3a million) for Llorente, but will probably let him go for less.a
a Liverpool are determined to add to their strike-force and had targeted Benteke, having signed Danny Ings for a fee to be set by a tribunal but which could be A?5a million to A?7a million, although they will not bid anywhere near the Belgian internationala s buy-out clause.a
a As that interest has started to cool, possibly to see whether Villa lower their asking price, Liverpool are examining the possibility of signing either Llorente or Bacca.a
Well, it is a strange one, given that Liverpool FC play a style of football that is hardly what Llorente would directly fit into. Unless, the club are looking for more of a ‘Plan B’ approach, which is very much a possibility given their interest in the likes of Benteke and Rondon.
Regardless, Fernando Llorente is not keen on swapping the white and black of Juventus for red of Liverpool FC, anytime soon.