Fiorentina have left winger Nico Gonzalez out of their squad for Thursday's Europa Conference League clash with Puskas Akademia amid suggestions he is close to joining Juventus.

Gonzalez is reportedly a top target for new Juve head coach Thiago Motta, with the Bianconeri expected to sell Federico Chiesa and bring in another wide player.

The Argentina international joined Fiorentina in 2021 and has become one of their foremost attacking threats, contributing 12 goals and two assists in 29 league appearances last term.

However, he was left out by new boss Raffaele Palladino as Fiorentina started their Serie A campaign with a 1-1 draw at Parma last week.

He will also play no part when they host Hungarian side Puskas Akademia at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the first leg of their play-off tie.

La Gazzetta dello Sport have reported Juventus submitted an improved bid of €32million for Gonzalez on Wednesday, with the 26-year-old believed to be keen on the move.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri is happy for Juventus to continue their progress under the radar.

The Turin club are firmly in the Serie A title hunt after a strong start to the season as they bid to make a return to European qualification, having been excluded from this year’s Europa Conference League over breaches of UEFA’s financial fair play rules.

Juventus travel to Fiorentina on Sunday night bidding for a fourth straight win and Allegri is pleased with their progress.

“We must work on our weaknesses and become rock solid,” Allegri told his pre-match press conference.

“We’re on the right track but we’ve only played 10 games and that’s not enough to achieve our goal of qualifying for next year’s Champions League.

“As I said, the important thing is working hard to grow and improve to become a rock-solid team. We need to be more precise and efficient in front of goal as well as improving our defence because things can go wrong very quickly in football.

“It takes balance. We have to remain solid throughout the season because we’ve got a goal to achieve.

“Low profile, less talk and more graft.”

After an impressive start to the campaign, Fiorentina’s form has tailed off a touch having lost their last two matches without scoring.

But Allegri is wary of the threat posed by the hosts, with Nicolas Gonzalez a particular challenge to Juventus having scored five goals in nine matches.

“It’s a big game tomorrow because there’s always been great rivalry between Juve and Fiorentina,” Allegri added.

“They’re an excellent side even though they’re coming in off the back of two league defeats. They like to attack and play good football.

“We’re going to need a big performance if we want to come away with a good result. I consider Fiorentina one of the best-equipped teams of the season because they have lots of great players both technically and physically.

“They will be fighting for a place in the top four. This year Fiorentina have got a great squad.

“They have a striker like Nico Gonzalez, two centre-forwards with Christian Kouame on the left and Giacomo Bonaventura who’s doing big things. Arthur has also recovered from injury and is doing well.”

Former Everton striker Moise Kean has yet to score this season in nine appearances for Juventus and Italy but Allegri praised the 23-year-old’s growth and told all his attackers that they need to contribute.

“Kean is in a great place. He’s grown both physically and technically and his mentality has improved no end. I’m happy with him but he must keep improving,” Allegri added.

“All five of our forwards are in good form. (Federico) Chiesa and (Dusan) Vlahovic know they need to contribute to the good of the team, just like the rest of the group because everyone is important.”