Mandzukic turns down PSG offer as he commits future to Juventus

The forward will stick it out with the Serie A champions until at least January despite the French giants wanting his services

Posted Thursday, August 29, 2019 by Goal.com

Mario Mandzukic has turned down the chance to join Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

The French giants are going through something of a crisis in the attacking third with both Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe injured and Brazilian star Neymar seemingly on his way to Barcelona in the coming days.

As such, they were hoping to bring in Croatian Mandzukic, a 33-year-old who looks to be surplus to needs with Juventus.

The forward is not Juve's list for the Champions League, with Maurizio Sarri preferring to use Argentine pair Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala to lead the line alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

PSG reached out to Juventus to gage the availability of their aging striker and, while the club were willing to listen to offers, the player is not ready to leave.

Goal has received confirmation that Mandzukic is ready to stick it out with Juventus until the winter transfer window before making any decisions on his future.

PSG still have time to convince him to make the move, with the European transfer window open until September 2, but the French outfit will have a hard time rushing a decision out of Mandzukic.

The Croatian scored nine league goals for Juventus last season and could still have a part to play for the club even if he is left out of their UEFA roster.

His return in the 2018-19 campaign was his best in the league since his first season with Juventus, though he added just one goal in eight European matches.

While his goal return was solid enough, Mandzukic played his lowest number of matches for the club with 33 appearances across all competitions last term, and his usage rate looks to decrease under Sarri.

And more offers could still come in for the big forward, who was linked to Manchester United earlier in the summer and has also reportedly drawn interest from Roma.

A lucrative move to China this winter has also been muted as a possibility, and it seems Mandzukic would like to explore all of his options before making a decision on his next destination, which will represent the seventh club of his illustrious career.