Juventus coach Luigi Delneri has been defending his exuberant off-season transfer dealings.

While Serie A rivals AC Milan were relatively quiet in the transfer market until the last few days when they landed two coups, bringing superstars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho to the club, Juve’s policy seemed more one of quantity than quality.

Delneri brought in 10 players while letting the likes of playmaker Diego return to Germany, although he did offload veterans David Trezeguet and Jonathan Zebina.

Although his acquisitions included five full Italy internationals, he was overshadowed by Milan’s dealings.

But Delneri insists he is happy with his buys.

“The club did what it could bearing in mind our technical and economic needs,” he told Friday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“And that’s fine by me because I have a young squad with cover in every position.”

Milan spent 42 million euros on their two marquee signings, far less than Juve spent in total but Delneri argued that his rivals tactic does not guarantee success.

“Milan bought two stars that no one imagined they could but only time will tell who did well (in the transfer market) and who didn’t,” he added.

“I remember a year ago that everyone was eulogising over Juve’s buys. After the first few games they seemed to be able to compete with Inter but then we all know what happened.

“Who guarantees that a star will resolve all your problems? We’ve already got quality given that we’re full of internationals.”

Despite winning their first four games, Juve slumped to their worst ever season in Serie A with records numbers of defeats and goals conceded last time out.

Juventus actually wanted to buy even more players but were snubbed by Antonio Di Natale, Mario Borriello and Georgia centre-back Kakha Kaladze.

Although, that’s not how Delneri sees things.

“Calm down, no one turned us down. Di Natale had already rejected Napoli in a life-choice because he wanted to stay in Udine.

“Borriello preferred another team for contractual reasons while for Kaladze it’s something else altogether.

“But all the others came here running like (Fabio) Quagliarella, showing that they love the shirt.”

Delneri insists Juve will be aiming to qualify for the Champions League this season and he brushed off the scepticism surrounding him, particularly from fans expecting a bigger name at the club’s helm.

This is the biggest job of Delneri’s career. Prior to joining Juve his best achievement as a coach was guiding Sampdoria to fourth place last season.

“Even (Nelson) Mandela was suspicious when he was freed because he was afraid he’d be killed.

“To tell the truth I’ve felt a lot of warmth around me. But who’s sceptical?

“I’d say they’re right because they don’t know me, even if my career numbers are on my side.

“Not least given that last year when I didn’t finish last but 12 points ahead of Juventus.”

The agent of David Trezeguet has confirmed Valencia has made an offer for the Juventus striker.

The Spaniards are looking to bolster their offensive line after selling striker Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City) and David Villa (Barcelona). Tuttosport reports Valencia have asked Juve to name their price for Trezeguet who still has a contract in Turin until July 2011.

Trezeguet’s agent, Antonio Caliendo, confirmed the offer: “Valencia is the last team that has moved for David and I’m confident.

“But we still need to talk about thorny issues such as his contract and the cost of the transfer.”

Domenico Criscito’s move to Genoa has now become permanent, with Italian giants Juventus announcing that they have sold the remaining 50% of his rights to the Rossoblu. The Bianconeri will earn around six million euros from the deal, according to a release on their official website. Genoa will pay the money to Juve over three years.

Left back Criscito has been capped by the Italian national team and was part of the Azzurri squad that failed to defend their title in South Africa recently. He has also represented Italy atU-17, U-18, U-19, U-20 and U-21 levels.

Genoa finished 9th in Serie last season, while Juventus had to make do with 7th place in the league.

Milan goalkeeper Marco Storari has moved to Juventus with Genoa’s Marco Amelia joining Milan on loan. Milan announced the deals on their official website said in a statement on Wednesday.

Dida was released at the end of last season after years of service between the posts. Meanwhile Christian Abbiati is poised to be Milan’s first choice next season with Amelia as his deputy.

On the other hand, Juventus manager Luigi Del Neri knows Storari from his time at Sampdoria. The Italian keeper, who joins Juve on a three-year deal, played under Del Neri last season after Sampdoria secured his services on loan from Milan for the second half of the season.

Storari follows Catania’s Jorge Martinez who joined Juventus last week.

Marco Amelia is set to join Milan from Genoa.

It’s reported that the goalkeeper will initially move to San Siro on loan, with Milan having the option to make it permanent next summer.

Amelia was reportedly unhappy at Genoa and his agent, Carlo Pallavicini, has already met the Rossoneri directors to talk about a move for his client.

If all goes well, the player will soon undergo his medical at Milanello.

Amelia, who was part of Italy’s World Cup-winning squad in 2006, will be the first choice for Milan next season with Marco Storari set to join Juventus and Dida also on the move.

Fabio Cannavaro has warned John Terry he should avoid taking on England coach Fabio Capello.

The Italy captain has played for Capello at Real Madrid and Juventus.

“John Terry versus Fabio Capello really is a David v Goliath battle, but I can assure you this time David won’t cause an upset,” Cannavaro declared.

“Fabio is the boss. If you don’t understand Fabio is the boss you soon will or you will be out of the team.

“When we were at Madrid David Beckham was the most iconic player in the world, but Fabio wasn’t afraid to show the world who was boss.”

And Canna added: “I believe Fabio is still more than capable of taking England all the way in this World Cup.”

Fiorentina winger Juan Manuel Vargas has revealed that he wants to stay at Viola until the right offer comes along.

The 26-year-old left-back has been linked with a move to the Real Madrid, Internazionale, Juventus or Chelsea and he is currently out of action due to the knee injury.

“If an important offer does come in to the club then I will evaluate it,” the midfielder told the Peruvian media.

“Otherwise I would be very happy to stay at Fiorentina,” he added.

Vargas joined Fiorentina on 5 July 2008 for a fee of €12million and still has a contract tying him to the club until June 2013.

Catania director Pietro Lo Monaco has confirmed Jorge Martinez is set for Juventus.

The Uruguayan winger, who was surprisingly left out of the Uruguay squad despite the winger enjoying a stunning campaign last term, has been with Catania for the past three years.

The 27-year-old is expected to pen his new contract on Monday, with Catania receiving a reported €12 million.

Lo Monaco said: “Jorge Martinez is a Juventus player and so we have to say goodbye to him.

“I want to congratulate him because he will be wearing the shirt of a very important club.”

Martinez’s move to Turin has seen Juve end their interest in CSKA Moscow’s Milos Krasic, who could now join Manchester City.

Gianluigi Buffon expects he will be able to play in Italy’s next World Cup match against New Zealand, on Sunday.
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