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Buffon makes statement
Written by JR Walker | 19th July 2006 | 0 Comment(s)
Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon looks unlikely to be coming to the Premiership following his recent comment with regard to the club's relegation which should shortly be confirmed following their appeal.
‘'If Juve want to keep me, I will not have a problem playing in Serie B,'' said the keeper, following a statement from the club's head of sporting activities Alessio Secco.
The Juventus official downplayed talk of World Cup winner Gianluigi Buffon being sold to rivals AC Milan.
With Cristian Abbiati having been loaned to Torino, Buffon's departure would leave Juventus without a first-class keeper, a situation the club is not willing to accept.
‘'Abbiati has joined Torino. Then Buffon will not join Milan,'' said Secco.
Arsenal had been heavily linked with Buffon for a few weeks now, and Manchester United were another thought to be monitoring the situation, but most of the Italian media speculated that the World Cup winning keeper would remain in Italy and join Milan.
This followed comments by the player's agent Silvano Martina, who stated:
‘'His primary objective is to remain in Italy.''
''He likes London as a possible destination, but his desire is to continue his playing career in Serie ‘A'.''
Now it seems that Buffon is quite happy to continue his highly paid contract in Turin if Juve wish him to remain.
Playing in Serie ‘B' for one or two seasons is unlikely to pose any threat to Buffon's international career, and he like one or two others may feel that not having the extra games of European competition may eventually prolong their careers with a lighter load over the next few seasons.
Pavel Nedved is another who has expressed his desire to remain a Juve player, but most would expect the majority to depart over the next few weeks.
Arsenal and Man United have a similar problem in that their present No.1's are no spring chickens, but both Jens Lehmann and Edwin van der Sar have proved extremely effective.
Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson have both tried to bring in younger keepers, but experience in that position has proved a hard commodity to replace.
Both Lehmann and van der Sar will probably feel they can perform at the highest level for at least another two, or maybe three years, so it may prove that neither manager should have to hit the panic button quite yet.
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