Zenga: Cassano, Balotelli will not be joining Sampdoria

Sampdoria coach Walter Zenga insisted Italian pair Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli will not be joining the club.

A return to Sampdoria has been touted for free agent Cassano, with president Massimo Ferrero confirming talks have taken place between both parties.

Liverpool outcast Balotelli has also emerged as a transfer target for Sampdoria, however, Zenga dismissed those rumours in an interview with Rai Radio 2.

“They [Cassano and Balotelli] are players of extraordinary talent, but no,” said Zenga, who was presented as coach earlier in June.

“Giampaolo Pazzini? Who wouldn’t like to train a player like that? But there are things the common fan is unaware of.

“We have already made three or four buys. There’s [Edgar] Barreto, [Niklas] Moisander, [Federico] Bonazzoli and [Mattia] Cassani. We got Cassani to plug the gap after Lorenzo De Silvestri’s injury.

“The club acted quickly on the transfer market and we are building a good squad. We’ll see what else happens, the market is open until September.”