Juventus end interest in signing Barcelona striker Luis Suarez | OneFootball

Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has confirmed that the club won’t be pursuing the signature of Luis Suarez from Barcelona amid his delay in securing an Italian passport.

The Bianconeri have already used up their allotment of non-EU signings for the summer with the signings of Brazilian midfielder Arthur and USA’s Weston McKennie.

Hence, they are only allowed to bring in EU-based players during the final few weeks of the transfer window and Suarez won’t be able to fulfil the requirements due to the delay in attaining an Italian passport.

The Uruguay international recently underwent a language exam in the country in order to become a citizen, but due to bureaucratic issues, the decision won’t be made in the near future.

The Bianconeri are keen on recruiting a EU-based striker, who can be registered for the Champions League campaign starting from October and Suarez won’t be able to fulfil the criteria, as things stand.

Hence, Paratici has confirmed that the Serie A holders have pulled the plug on the potential deal, given Suarez is unlikely to receive his Italian passport before the October 5 transfer deadline or the Champions League registration deadline which follows.

“Suarez can be removed from that list, because the time it takes to get the passport is longer than the transfer deadline or the moment we can hand in the Champions League lists,” He told.

“We evaluated the Suarez option when it was proposed to us. He was in the process of getting Italian citizenship, so we evaluated the possibility of registering him in time. It is not possible, so he was never really close.“

Suarez’s representatives are currently looking for the striker’s release from his Blaugrana contract, which expires in less than 10 months’ time. Aside from Juventus, Atletico Madrid have been linked with his services, but they are only keen on landing him on a free transfer.

Barcelona start their La Liga season with a home game against Villarreal next weekend. The Catalan giants are currently under the management of Ronald Koeman, who has deemed Suarez to be surplus to requirements.

The club are not actively looking into a replacement for Suarez and judging by recent friendlies, Antoine Griezmann appears likely to lead the line, which was his customary position at former club Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, the Bianconeri’s quest for a new striker continues. AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko has recently been fancied to join them, suppose his club are able to find a suitable agreement for Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com