Chiellini reassuring to Juventus: ‘Agnelli family, Thuram and Yildiz going nowhere’

Juventus director Giorgio Chiellini reassures the Agnelli family and the club are ‘one and the same,’ while Khephren Thuram and Kenan Yildiz are going nowhere.

The trip to Bologna kicks off at the Stadio Dall’Ara at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The Bianconeri went into the weekend in seventh place and sitting two points behind Bologna, so this is a crucial head-to-head for European spots.

There have been reports that Juventus could swap Khephren Thuram with Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi in the January transfer market.

“I won’t talk about Frattesi, as that’s a lack of respect towards Inter. What I can say without doubt is that Thuram will remain a Juventus player. He has done really well in the year and a half he’s been with us and we have no intention of letting him go,” Chiellini told DAZN Italia.

The big news this week was that cryptocurrency firm Tether, who are already minority shareholders, launched a shock takeover bid to purchase all the remaining shares from the Agnelli family holding company Exor.

It was rejected immediately, with President John Elkann stating the club’s values were ‘not for sale.’

“They were important words, strong words, but for those who know the atmosphere, they were not surprising. When we think of the Agnelli family, we think of Juventus, and vice versa. They are one and the same. That’s how it has always been and that’s how it will be in future,” added Chiellini.

“So there’s nothing more to say other than we will build Juve back to the strength they had in the past and will again in the future. There are values at Juventus that get passed from generation to generation, but we also look to the future.

“It has unfortunately been five years since we last won the Scudetto, we feel the responsibility of that, but it takes nothing away from our confidence going into the future. Above all, the owners and Juventus are a single insoluble entity.”

If the club had been sold, would Chiellini still have been dealing with negotiations for the new Kenan Yildiz contract?

“I haven’t the foggiest idea, but that’s not an issue I will need to think about! Kenan is an important player, he has a long contract, it’s not a situation that gets sorted out in a week. The important thing is that we both want to carry on together, his contract doesn’t expire in six months, so there’s no rush, but we want to improve the contract so it is suited to his status.”

Juve got back on track in the Champions League midweek with a 2-0 victory over Pafos, a much-needed result after last week’s Serie A loss to Napoli.