Patrick Vieira has quashed rumours of Edin Dzeko leaving Manchester City with Italian giants Juventus the latest to be linked with the striker.
The Bosnia international, who joined City from Wolfsburg in January 2011, was strongly connected with a move away from the Premier League champions in the summer but the club’s football development executive indicated that any interest shown in the forward man by the Serie A holders would be a waste of their time.
“Dzeko to Juve? For us he is a key player,” Vieira told Tuttojuve.com.
“Did you see that goal he scored against Real Madrid [on Tuesday]? I’m sorry for the Bianconeri fans but the extraordinary strikers do not move from Manchester.”
Dzeko has enjoyed a fruitful start to the season with three goals in five appearances in all competitions, with a total of 28 goals in 68 games for City since his move from Germany.
The forward’s strike against Los Blancos on Tuesday ended up being in a losing cause as the Spaniards came back to win 3-2 in the Champions League encounter.