Cagliari sporting director Marcello Carli has issued a hands off warning for midfielder Nicolo Barella amid there being alleged interest in his services.

“Who has asked for him in Italy? No-one. We are not ready to deprive ourselves of Barella. Many have thought about him and are thinking about him for sure but last summer the president would not even sit down at the table even with big offers. It is the same abroad, teams have not asked me. Saying we want to keep him makes the club’s attitude clear on the matter,” Carli said in an interview with Milan based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

Carli proceeded to tip the 21-year-old for a bright future, particularly in the Italian national team, but insisted that he must keep trying to get better if he wishes to have this future.

“He must continue to improve, because when you stop striving to improve it is over. He has 10 years with the national team ahead of him.