Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has launched a scathing attack against the press in Italy, claiming that transfer speculation about his players is unsettling for his squad amid rumours surrounding Patrice Evra's potential exit.
Evra, 35, has fallen down the pecking order in Turin with Alex Sandro cementing himself as Allegri's first-choice left-back.
As a result, there has been talk of a potential Premier League return for Evra, with Manchester United reportedly keen on the veteran defender, although Gazzetta dello Sport claim that it would most likely be in a coaching role.
"I won't talk about transfers, because that is down to the club," "?Four Four Two quote Allegri as saying.
"As long as players are at Juventus, they have to be at the disposal of the coach.
.@OfficialAllegri: Domani a sinistra giocheranno o Evra o Asamoah. E in avanti sicuramente ci sarà @PauDybala_JR #JuveBologna
"There is some instability created by transfer gossip, so the less we talk about it, the better.
"I am against the January window, as it creates distraction and can destabilise situations during an important month of games."
Juventus have already signed one player so far this January, with Tomas Rincon from Genoa joining the club in a £6.75m deal.
Massimiliano Allegri ha spiegato che, nonostante l'arrabbiatura di Doha, resterà ancora a lungo alla Juventus https://t.co/my4cdLHZRW
"Tomas can play either in central midfield or just in front of the defence. He can become a big player for us," Allegri added.
The 49-year-old former AC Milan boss went on to discuss his side's gruelling defeat against his former club in Doha last month for the Supercoppa Italian, where he was seen having a heated conversation with directors Fabio Paratici and Beppe Marotta after the game.
"It was a normal situation of blowing off steam," he explained. "It has absolutely nothing to do with my future or the transfer situation, those were totally separate.
"I praised the lads so many times for all they've done and all they are doing, so just once allow me to vent a bit. In a game like that, which can be lost if the opposition is better than us or prove themselves better on the day, my problem was after 35 minutes we left the building.
"We did not deal with the game at all and well and so our interpretation of the match is what irritated me. The lads have done more over the calendar year than anyone else in Europe, but on that occasion they didn't understand the importance of the occasion.
"I got angry because they deserved it, for once in three years."