Cobolli Promises January Signings

Cobolli Promises January Signings

Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli confirms Claudio Ranieri, snubs Roberto Mancini's rumours and vows the Old Lady have the resources to storm the Calciomercato in January.

The Bianconeri have somewhat eased the pressure on Ranieri, after bringing to an end a terrible run of results with a morale-boosting win over Real Madrid in the Champions League last Tuesday.

The European triumph put the Corso Galileo Ferraris outfit in the driving seat to qualify for the knock-out stage of the competition, but the early rounds of the domestic season have showed they still lack that extra bit of quality, particularly in the middle of the park, that would enable them to mount a serious Scudetto challenge.

"I have already stated that we have the finances to bring in some new faces next January," Cobolli told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We did so last winter when we purchased Mohamed Sissoko. However, we first want to see what happens over the next few months.

"Several important players are recovering from injury lay-offs: Cristiano Zanetti is a pillar in midfield and Jonathan Zebina is a great centre-back who can always make a difference."

Fans and pundits alike have blasted the club's decision to pursue Danish international Christian Poulsen this summer, when a swoop for Liverpool's talented midfield man Xabi Alonso seemed on the cards, but Gigli restates that they have no regrets over the move.

"We would do the same thing now," he said, "as we feel he can contribute to our project and I believe he will soon prove what a great player he is."

Ranieri was starting to feel the heat after a second defeat on the trot at Napoli, but the directors and even John Elkann have restated their faith in the ex-Chelsea boss.

"His position at the club was never in question," insisted the Bianconeri president.

"We are very grateful to him for what he is doing and even more so for what he will be doing in the future. We all picked him as a manager and he is staying put."

Over the past few days, the Italian press has drawn up a list of potential candidates to replace the 57-year-old tactician and Mancio was surprisingly included.

"I just had a big laugh, they just mentioned his name to wind up our fans," concluded Cobolli.

*goal.com