Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli insists the club is ‘very happy’ with Max Allegri’s work and will not discuss his future before securing a Champions League slot.
Their Serie A match with Cagliari kicks off at the Unipol Domus arena at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Genoa–Lazio on the LIVEBLOG.
It is now official that the top five in Serie A will qualify for the new expanded Champions League tournament next season, so have Juve practically got it sewn up?
“We are not looking over our shoulders, we will try to do our best, get the target we set with Allegri at the start of the season and get it as soon as possible,” Giuntoli told Sky Sport Italia.
“We’re pleased for Italian football that there are now five places for Serie A clubs.”
Inevitably, the questions to Giuntoli were about the future of Allegri on the Juventus bench, who has a contract until June 2025.
“We are very happy with the coach, he is doing a great job with the lads. At the end of the season, when we have all the cards on the table, we will be able to plan the future.
“He has a contract, at this moment we want to put all our focus on the objectives that we want to achieve this season.”
Could Juventus even offer Allegri a new contract or let it run down to June 2025?
“The coach has a year left on his contract and we are happy with his work. As I said, we’ll see what our budget is, what tournaments we are qualified for. It is not easy to keep the books balanced and also provide a squad with quality, so we need to wait for that.”
The Bianconeri have been struggling recently with just two wins in their last 11 Serie A matches, but still hanging on to third place.
Moise Kean and Fabio Miretti miss out, though Arkadiusz Milik returns to the squad and Wojciech Szczesny takes the gloves despite breaking his nose in the goalless Derby della Mole against Torino.
There are reports that John Elkann, the heir to the Agnelli fortune and chief of their holding company, is no longer prepared to pump funds into Juventus.
“We all know what we are coming from, we need to balance the books,” replied Giuntoli.
“It is a process, we are Juventus, we have faith and will do our best.”