Juventus have confirmed that they have closed negotiations with Napoli over a move for Gonzalo Higuain, after refusing to meet the buyout clause in the striker's contract.
The Bianconeri had been keen to bring the Argentine striker to the Juventus Stadium, but with Napoli refusing to accept any bid lower than the 94.5 million clause in his contract, the champions were left with little room to manouvre.
A meeting between representatives of the two rivals was held in Milan on Monday, as Juventus Director Beppe Marotta attempted to persuade Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis to lower his asking price, to no avail.
"We won't pay the clause, it is absolutely true," Marotta claimed. "There are no negotiations for Higuain, Napoli won't negotiate and the matter is closed, for the time being at least."
Marotta confirmed that the Turin club would continue to look for a striker to fill the void left by Alvaro Morata, who returned to former club Real Madrid in June.
"We will continue to look to replace Morata. I won't add anything else," Marotta concluded.
Higuain was the top scorer in Serie A last season, with his 36 goals breaking Gunnar Nordahl's 66-year-old record.
Napoli have told Juventus that they do not intend to open any negotiations over the sale of Gonzalo Higuain this summer, according to the Azzurri's president.
Aurelio De Laurentiis met with Juventus' general manager Beppe Marotta at a meeting of the Lega Serie A in Milan on Monday, but the brief encounter was long enough only for him to tell the Bianconeri they were wasting their time trying to negotiate a deal for Higuain.
The Argentina forward has a clause in his contract enabling him to leave if a bid of €94.7 million is received, and De Laurentiis told Juve that if they are not willing to match that figure, they are only wasting their time.
"No club so far have put on the table the amount of money in his release clause, and not even Higuain has said anything to me," De Laurentiis told reporters in Milan, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport. "All the rubbish I've seen written does is hurt out fans."
The Napoli president is refusing to budge over Higuain's valuation and he hopes Juve will not even try to test him either.
"Juve are very intelligent and they understand that they cannot make this mistake," he said. "They know full well that it's a lost cause and that [by trying to negotiate] they would become an extremely unpleasant club.
"I'm convinced that Juve have a certain degree of class and they are not going to disturb us.
"I asked Marotta: 'Are you going to pay the clause?' and he replied 'We're not even thinking about it.'"
The 28-year-old, who scored 36 goals in Serie A last season, is therefore expected to report for training with Napoli on July 25.
De Laurentiis also rubbished reports that Juventus' Roberto Pereyra could be included as part of any potential deal.
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