Nainggolan: I never spoke to Juve

Radja Nainggolan of Cagliari insists he doesn’t know how close Juventus came to signing him in January.

The Old Lady targeted the midfielder at the start of this year before netting Simone Padoin from Atalanta instead.

“I never spoke to the Juventus officials,” he told the Corriere dello Sport. “I only had Cagliari in my mind and I only read about it in the newspapers.

“The clubs may have discussed a transfer, but I don’t know anything about that.”

Nainggolan, who is also liked by Russian clubs, may still be on the Bianconeri’s radar as they look to strengthen for next season’s Champions League return.

“Who wouldn’t want to be of interest to a great team? Juventus are that,” the former Piacenza man noted.

“However, I’m a player and it is not my job to talk about transfers. That would be a topic of discussion for the clubs.

“I’ve never wanted to leave Cagliari because I’m happy in this team and in this city. My only thoughts for now are keeping us in Serie A.”