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Suarez’s talks of joining Juventus hit a brick wall

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Recent talks about Barcelona and Uruguay forward, Luis Suarez joining Juventus have hit the brick wall, according to coach Andrea Pirlo on Saturday.

Pirlo, who replaced Maurizio Sarri last month said that Juventus needed a centre-forward but that there was not enough time for Suarez to obtain an Italian passport.

Juventus have already used up their limit of two non-EU signings following the arrival of Brazilian midfielder Arthur and U.S. international Weston McKinnie and would only be able to add Suarez if he can obtain an EU passport.

“We’re all waiting for a centre forward. There is still a long way to go in the transfer window so we’re calm and happy, we’re not in a hurry,” said Pirlo.

“Suarez is difficult because it takes a long time to get the passport, so it’s unlikely that it could be him”.

Although Suarez is eligible for Italian naturalisation as his wife is a citizen of the country, the process usually takes several years – a detail overlooked in much of the speculation linking him to the Serie A champions over the last month.

Pirlo said that Cristiano Ronaldo and Dejan Kulusevski would share the role against Sampdoria.

“Neither Kulusevski nor Ronaldo will start in the classic centre forward position, they will try to move according to what the other does,” said Pirlo. “There will be rotations to allow as many people as possible to arrive in the area.”

The 41-year-old said he was relaxed ahead of the new season where he will be expected, at the minimum, to bring Juventus a tenth successive Serie A title.

“After a month of Juve I have no doubts, but many certainties,” he said. “I have fitted in well, now the pitch will do the talking.”

Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has said Luis Suarez will be treated like any other player if he ends up staying at the club this season, despite leaving the Uruguayan striker out of the squad for the second match in a row.

Suarez, Barca’s third top scorer of all time, has one year left on his contract, was omitted from the squad for Wednesday’s 3-1 friendly win over Girona.

One of Koeman’s first acts as Barca coach was to tell Suarez he was no longer wanted but offloading the 33-year-old is proving difficult.

“I’ve spoken to him about his future and we are waiting to see whether or not he leaves, we still don’t know,” Koeman told Catalan network TV3 after the win over Girona.

“But we respect every contract here and if in the end he does not find a club and he stays, he will be just like any other player in the squad.”

Additional reports from Reuters

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