The saga of Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente’s refusal to sign a new contract has taken a further twist, reports Tuttosport.
Juventus are the latest club to be interested in the Spanish international and the publication quotes director general Beppe Marotta as saying negotiations have already taken place.
“We are negotiating but it is not easy as Athletic do not want to sell,” said Marotta from China, where Juventus beat Napoli 4-2 at the weekend to win the Italian Super Cup.
The same paper insists that a price of €16m has also been put on the 27-year-old Pamplona-born player’s head, less than half the €36m rescission clause in his contract.
Athletic are understood to have offered Llorente around €4.5m per season and will not budge on that figure, while the forward himself is believed to be willing to listen to what other clubs put on the table before he commits himself either way.
Even so, as the tug of war for his services continues, Athletic President Josu Urrutia knows that if he does not sell Llorente before the end of August then he risks losing him for nothing when his current agreement runs out next year.
