Cagliari director Marcello Carli admits they turned down an Atletico Madrid offer for Nicolò Barella, but “two Italian clubs want him.”
The Italy international midfielder has been linked with the likes of Inter, Napoli, Roma and Arsenal.
“It’s a dream to keep Barella, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure if it’s achievable,” director of sport Carli told GianlucaDiMarzio.com.
Cagliari director Marcello Carli admits they turned down an Atletico Madrid offer for Nicolò Barella, but “two Italian clubs want him.”
The Italy international midfielder has been linked with the likes of Inter, Napoli, Roma and Arsenal.
“It’s a dream to keep Barella, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure if it’s achievable,” director of sport Carli told GianlucaDiMarzio.com.
“There are two Italian clubs who want him. We’ll see… We already turned down many offers last year, such as over the summer from Atletico Madrid.
“As things stand today, I really don’t know if he will remain or not. There is no guarantee he’ll stay, but in January we didn’t take any proposals into consideration.
“If he were to leave, we’d have to find a suitable replacement. Nicolò is a professional who really cares about Cagliari, so he just has to focus on finishing this season as well as possible.
“We’ll try to consolidate and reinforce the squad. I believe there are at least two or three players who haven’t fulfilled their potential yet, among them Ragnar Klavan, Valter Birsa and Lucas Castro. They’ll be like new signings next season.”
Cagliari rewarded Coach Rolando Maran with a contract extension to June 2022.
“He is the right Coach for us to grow with, ideal for our dimension and objectives. The President decided to hand him this three-year contract to give him strength and support.”