Bosnian international has made it clear to the club he wants to stay.
Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic has insisted that he wants to stay at the club amid speculation linking him with a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
The 23-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Stadio Olimpico over the past few months, with uncertainty surrounding his future ahead of the arrival of new coach Rudi Garcia.
However, the French tactician installed Pjanic as the central midfielder playmaker in their first pre-season game on Wednesday, a 9-1 win over a local team, and it would appear as though the youngster has an integral role to play for the club moving forward.
Despite the interest from Tottenham, Pjanic has made it clear that he is not interested in leaving the Italian capital, and is exciting about his future in Rome.
“I don’t want to leave and the club know that,” he told the media at Roma’s pre-season retreat as quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Perhaps there was interest in me, but my objective has always been very clear.
“I want to stay here and I arrived at pre-season prepared to help the team and start the championship well.
“Saying that, you never know what can happen in the transfer market and I don’t know the financial situation of the club, but I want to stay and they are aware of my desire.”
Pjanic joined the club from Lyon back in 2011 and has been deployed in various positions under Luis Enrique, Zdenek Zeman and Aurelio Andreazzoli.
However, Garcia has received positive feedback from the players thus far as they all believe they understand what is required of them next season. The new coach has given the majority of them clear ideas as to their positions and roles in the team, although Pjanic admits that he still needs to establish his preferred place on the pitch.
“I’ve spoken to the Coach and he wants a lot of technique in midfield. He wants us to control games,” he added.
“There are a lot of us in midfield, those who are in the best shape will play and the Coach will find the right formula.”
The former Lyon ace also had time to welcome new signing Kevin Strootman to the club, and believes the club have added another “great player” to the squad.
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