Buffon given vote of confidence amid Donnarumma reports

Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has distanced the club from reports linking AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a move to Turin.

The 17-year-old has been a revelation for Milan since making his Serie A debut last October, supplanting all the competition to become the club’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper despite his tender age.

The former Napoli trainee also made his Italy debut in September and, with a big future ahead of him, he had been suggested as a target for the reigning Serie A champions.

But Marotta was quick to give current Juve keeper Gianluigi Buffon – 21 years Donnarumma’s senior at 38 – a vote of confidence.

“Donnarumma is a rising star and I think he can improve game by game,” he told Mediaset Premium ahead of the sides’ meeting at San Siro on Saturday. “Fortunately for Milan, he is their player.

“We have an extraordinary goalkeeper in Buffon, a professional who is writing new pages in football history. We’ll hold on to him.

“But Milan have a winning model and it’s good to see so many young Italians in the line-up.”