Juventus midfielder turns down £24m Liverpool switch

Liverpool haven't had the best of luck with Italian imports.

There was Mario Balotelli. And Alberto Aquilani. And Andrea Dossena. And Fabio Borini (though he at least came from another Premier League club). But that lack of success seemingly hasn't put off Jurgen Klopp or the transfer committee or Jimmy Tarbuck or whoever it is who buys Liverpool's players from deciding that Juventus and Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio is the player they want to give some guile in the centre of the park. Marchisio, who scored for Italy against England at the World Cup last year, would likely have cost the Reds somewhere in the region of £24m. But the 29-year-old, who has recently returned to the Juventus side following injury, spoke after Sunday's game against Inter Milan to say that he is not interested in a move to Anfield. "I'm not interested, I've just signed a contract extension and I've just come back from injury," Marchisio told Sky Sports Italia.

"I'm working to get back to full fitness."

Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta had earlier confirmed that Liverpool made an enquiry for the player. "We get so many offers for our players, but we are used to buying not selling. Not only Liverpool, we have received several offers," Marotta told Calciomercato. "We have renewed with him, we focus strongly on Claudio and I believe that his first thought is he will finish his career here."