In the January transfer window, Manchester City emerged as a contender to land Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso.

TuttoSport suggested that contact was made between the two clubs. The Italian side were looking for over €50m to sell the versatile defender.

The move didn’t go through and Cambiaso’s form then dropped. The Italy international also faced a run of injury worries.

Now under Luciano Spalletti, the 25-year-old is back at his best. Cambiaso has spoken to Gazzetta dello Sport and was directly asked about links with Manchester City in January.

He claimed that a move to the Etihad was never close: “There was some interest last January, nothing more. I wasn’t close to leaving Juventus, I didn’t make any announcements in that regard, on the contrary. I was flattered, yes, but no other stories.”

The Italian press made a lot of the fact that the rumours impacted the player’s performances, but he believes this wasn’t the case.

“They were annoying, but that’s the way our world works and you can’t do anything about it. It was clear that it wasn’t the reason for my drop in form, but, perhaps, if I had been on the other side, I would have thought...