Udinese director Federico Balzaretti has confirmed that the club intend to keep midfielder Lazar Samardzic until the end of the season. The 21-year-old attracted the attention of many teams last season, culminating in Inter coming close to agreeing a transfer for him, only for the deal to collapse at the last minute due to disagreements over personal terms.
Tuttosport, among others, have suggested that Juve are looking to bring in the Serbian international, and would like to agree a deal in the winter transfer window.
The Bianconeri have lost Paul Pogba to a potential doping ban, while Nicolo Fagioli is out after he was handed a seven-month ban for illegal gambling activities.
Addressing the rumours ahead of the Coppa Italia match with Cagliari, Balzaretti spoke to SportMediaset to clarify the situation over their midfield star:
“Samardzic is a guy we absolutely intend to keep until the end of the season, because he is an added value for us and he still needs to mature by finding his balance and continuity.
“He is an extraordinary talent, whom we enjoy and will enjoy for as long as possible. We will make evaluations at the end of the year, but we’ll talk about that later.”
