He may have been discarded as ‘too slow for Juventus’ but Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has admitted that he is still attracted by the idea of moving to the Italian giants.

The Spain international was fiercely linked with a move to the Turin club in the summer, but the Serie A outfit apparently failed to match the Reds’ asking price while Juve boss Claudio Ranieri only last week claimed that the 26-year-old was ‘too slow’ to play in the Bianconeri midfield.

However, centre-midfielder Alonso has now spoken out his views and also accepting the reason why Juventus signed Christian Poulsen from Sevilla instead.

"To be honest, for my part, the attraction (to Juventus) has remained intact," Alonso said to Gazzetta dello Sport.

"One thing I can say is that I personally appreciated the honesty of the club executives," he continued.

"They told me their tactics on the pitch were different and that is why they chose Poulsen and not me.

"These are things that happen in football and it's fine. I could have gone but I didn't because, in the end, they chose someone else.

"Juventus are Juventus, the most prestigious club in Italy, but you cannot be disappointed when you play for Liverpool."