Caldara will not return to Juventus, says Atalanta president

Atalanta president Antonio Percassi insists Mattia Caldara will not move to Juventus before June 2018 when his loan deal expires.

Juventus signed Caldara from Atalanta in January before immediately loaning him back to Gian Piero Gasperini’s side until the end of next season.

However, reports emerged over the weekend suggesting the Serie A champions would lean on Atalanta to push forward Caldara’s return date in the wake of Leonardo Bonucci’s shock departure.

The Italy international completed a stunning £35m move to AC Milan over the weekend but Percassi insists Caldara will remain at Atalanta for the whole of next season.

“Caldara is staying with us,” Percassi is quoted as saying to fans at a pre-season event by Football Italia.

Juventus still have a number of options in defence despite the big hole Bonucci has left at the back and Daniele Rugani is now expected to establish himself as a first-team regular for the Old Lady.

Caldara enjoyed a sublime campaign for Atalanta last season and has been tipped as a regular for the Italian national team for years to come.

Only team-mate Rafael Toloi (106) and Francesco Acerbi (104) completed more interceptions than Caldara (101) in Serie A last season, but the 23-year-old also excelled in the opposition penalty area last season.

In fact, only former team-mate Andrea Conti (8) scored more goals than Caldara (7) of all defenders in Europe’s top five leagues last season, while Caldara also had the best conversion rate of players that scored at least five times (46.7%).

For more stats on Mattia Caldara, click here to visit his WhoScored player page