Juventus Sporting Director Fabio Paratici has distanced the club from rumours of Pep Guardiola, stating: “We’ve never had contact with Guardiola.”

The Bianconeri have been linked with a number of high profile names since confirming Max Allegri will leave the club after the weekends game against Sampdoria.

“We don’t need to create headlines or go for one upmanship, we just have to build the best possible squad. We will act in accordance with the directives of our new Coach, so must wait for him before we make any moves,” Paratici told DAZN.

“We have clear ideas and are evaluating the situation. Until all the competitions have concluded, it seems only fair to remain quiet, out of respect for everyone.

“Guardiola? It’s a strange world, this. We’ve never had contact with Guardiola and never thought about him. He is under contract, so it all seems very strange. We know this is what our world is like and we have to accept that.

“Dybala? He is a great player, he is ours and we have a great deal of faith in him, as proved by the investment we made to bring him here and the recent contract renewal.”