Manuel Locatelli admits interest from Juventus "is pleasing", with the Euro 2020 winner appearing to rule out a move to Arsenal being made this summer.
The Sassuolo star caught the eye for his country at this summer's European Championship, with impressive performances put in when providing cover for Marco Verratti.
His stock was already high prior to that, with Serie A giants in Turin plotting a move , but others - including Premier League heavyweights - have joined the hunt for his signature over recent weeks.
What has been said?
Locatelli claims to have been paying little attention to transfer talk while on international duty, but told Sky Sport Italia of the admiring glances he is attracting: "Up until now, I haven’t really thought about it, I couldn’t.
"The interest from Juventus is pleasing, they are a great team and I have said it several times."
The bigger picture
Locatelli stepped off the bench to help Italy to glory in the Euro 2020 final.
He was not required to take a penalty as England missed three of theirs to hand the Azzurri a continental crown.
The 23-year-old had, however, stepped up in a semi-final shootout with Spain, only to see his effort kept out.
He was willing to walk forward again, but was happy to see others get the job done for Roberto Mancini's side.
Locatelli added on fluffing his lines against Spain: "The world was collapsing around me and he [Giorgio Chiellini] kept repeating to rest assured, because we would have won.
"He told me the same [against England] and apparently he was right. I would have taken one. Anyway, luckily the others did it."
Further reading
- Ballon d'Or 2021 Power Rankings
- Nagelsmann plays down Bayern move for Chiesa
- Danilo makes Ronaldo future prediction