Chiellini: Juventus ‘respect’ Galatasaray but ‘never’ close to Osimhen

Juventus director Giorgio Chiellini says the Bianconeri have ‘great respect’ for their Champions League play-off opponent Galatasaray, but insists the Serie A giants were ‘never’ close to signing Osimhen.

Juventus have been drawn against Turkish giants Galatasaray in the Champions League knockout play-off.

It will be a reunion between Luciano Spalletti and Osimhen, who won the Serie A title at Napoli in 2022-23.

“It’s a strong team with great players. We’ll play the second leg at home, so it won’t end in Istanbul, but we’ll have to be good at going to that stadium to play our game and exploit their weaknesses and limit the big potential and individual players, not just in attack,” Chiellini told Sky Sport Italia from Nyon after the draw.

“We all know Osimhen, but they are strong in other departments too.”

Juventus have yet to sign a new player in the January window, and Chiellini said that there are no developments for now: “There is no news for now; three days are missing, and you’ll have updates in the coming days.”

Back in 2013, Chiellini was on the pitch and Antonio Conte on the bench when Juventus lost a group stage game against Galatasaray, facing elimination from the Champions League group phase.

It had been postponed by one day due to heavy snow in Istanbul, but when it was played, the pitch’s condition was far from ideal

“We lost it on the pitch, and I even made the decisive mistake, regardless of the snow and the pitch,” Chiellini said.

“Now we are two different teams. We must respect their quality, because they have quality players in all departments, but we must also be aware of our skills and put in an important performance. It will go down to details, like every knockout game, we’ll have to be mature to play in Istanbul and confirm it the following week.”

A reporter asked Chiellini if he would have liked to play up against Osimhen on the field.

“Right now, I couldn’t cope,” he replied, smiling.

“But I would love to mark him for 45 minutes. I was unlucky to face him once late in my career when my physical qualities were limited, and I had to rely more on the mental aspect. He’s a strong player, he attacks the space and has natural hunger within that you don’t see in many players.

“Galatasaray have many important players, some of whom have played in Serie A too. Turkish teams are making investments, and there’s great respect for a storied club like Galatasaray. It’s a fascinating challenge, it will be a tough game, but also an important test for us. We still have all to play for in Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia. We have some interesting weeks ahead.”

Have Juventus ever been close to signing Osimhen before he moved to Galatasaray from Napoli?

“If you mean that a club likes Osimhen, I think it’s true for all the teams, especially in Italy,” Chiellini concluded.

“But realistically, there’s never been anything more than this.”