Juventus GM Beppe Marotta says they're having to pick up the pieces after Inter Milan pulled out of a swap involving Mirko Vucinic and Fredy Guarin.
Vucinic had even cleared out his Juve locker before Inter dropped negotiations.
Marotta said: "Yesterday we were in Rome for the Coppa Italia, so were only able to meet with him today. We expressed great regret for the situation and clearly his mood is precarious. Let's not forget these are just young men who are not accustomed to these situations. We assured him Juventus will never abandon him, as we are grateful for what he has given to the club.
"It was Inter towards the end of December who asked for authorisation to speak to Vucinic and that is the only reason the negotiations progressed. Inter were not willing to pay cash, so we invented this exchange idea and identified Guarin as a player we wanted. The initiative came exclusively from Inter.
"Inter wanted to contact Vucinic, we agreed, and with no financial details we chose Guarin as giving the best guarantees. We didn't point a gun to anyone's head, nor did we imagine handing Vucinic to Inter would be in any way a 'rip-off.' He is a great player and if he is transferred, it is only because we have raised the level of competition in the forward line and given Vucinic less opportunity to play.
"We found ourselves in great difficulty with Inter, because we couldn't understand what happened or get any clear answers. I wouldn't say Inter are unreliable, but they are lacking in a professionally serious attitude. If we were to sit down with Inter again, we would require an explanation from President Thohir first.
"Vucinic is to all intents and purposes a Juventus player, but we will evaluate the situation day by day. He is part of the squad, though at the moment his confidence is extremely low, so we allowed him the day off today and also tomorrow. It was a heavy blow for him, as emptying the locker and having a medical made him think the move was already done.
"The chief responsible at Inter, ie Thohir, should explain to Agnelli what happened. We saw director Fassone tell journalists the problem was 'environmental' and we want to know what that actually means."
