Allegri denies approaching Pjanic

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has denied suggestions he contacted Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic to discuss a potential transfer to the Serie A champions.

Allegri is believed to be keen to add some more creativity to his midfield ahead of next season and has allegedly earmarked the 26-year-old Pjanic as the ideal signing.

However, the coach is adamant he has not approached the Roma star.

“Miralem is one of the best midfielders around on the European pitches, but I categorically deny that I called him,” Allegri told Sky Sport.

“I would never even dream of doing so. He is not a Juventus player and is under contract with another club.

“We need just a few changes to improve our team, some quality additions. I have asked [chief executive Giuseppe] Marotta and [sporting director Fabio] Paratici to look for players who know how to play football, but who also have the right attitude.”

Allegri was linked with Chelsea before eventually signing a new deal with Juventus but has claimed he did not consider walking away from the Turin giants.

“I was never close to leaving Juventus for another club. I had already decided that I wanted to stay with Juventus during Christmas,” he added.

“I asked the club to speed things up in February in order to avoid rumours linking me with other clubs,” he added, referring to his contract negotiations. 

Juve have won five successive Serie A titles, the last two coming under Allegri, who will face his former club AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final on Saturday.