Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has tried to downplay rumours around Nicolo Zaniolo, insisting his recent absence was nothing to do with rumours linking him to Newcastle United.
Reports at the end of last month indicated that Newcastle were making moves to bring Zaniolo in from Turkey this summer as they continue their summer build ahead of a season in the Champions League.
That has been pushed back on from within Turkey, where Galatasaray have been making it clear in public that they’ve not received any offers and don’t intend to sell anyway.
That’s not stopped the rumours from continuing, of course, particularly after Zaniolo’s manager Gaspare Galasso published on social media that he had flown to Istanbul. That was seen as a strong sign a transfer could be on the cards.
That was added to when Zaniolo was not included in Galatasaray’s squad for their game yesterday, another sign he could be about to finalise the rumoured move to Newcastle.
Buruk is having none of that, though, and has insisted the midfielder was simply absent because of a small injury.
“Zaniolo felt pain in his groin in the last tactical training, otherwise he would have been in the first XI. He is one of the players we trust, we will use it in the next matches,” he said when questioned on the matter.
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