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Liverpool battling Juventus for Fiorentina's Neto, agent says

Liverpool are among the clubs in the hunt for Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto, whose proposed transfer to Juventus has yet to be completed, according to the player's agent.

Neto's agent, Stefano Castagna, has denied claims Juve have already agreed terms with the Brazilian, who has already announced he will be leaving Fiorentina when his contract expires in the summer.

Should the 25-year-old move to Turin, he would likely play understudy to Gianluigi Buffon for the foreseeable future and that could be a good enough reason to turn down their approach and look elsewhere, with Brazil boss Dunga having already advised against the transfer.

"The only thing that is official is that Neto will not be staying in Florence," Castagna told Gazzetta TV. "Since Feb. 1, when it became possible to talk to other clubs, we've been evaluating offers that are interesting for the lad, in England, Germany and Spain in addition to Italy.

"One of those in England is Liverpool, and then there is a top Spanish club interested in him. Right now, the lad has to make a well pondered decision for his career.

"He's young and he's grown a great deal, but even when he was 18 he was one of the best in Brazil."

With Buffon, 37, set to play on for at least two more seasons beyond this one, and with no sign of the Italy No. 1 losing that status for club and country, many have questioned why Neto would join Juve.

One option would be for the Bianconeri to sign him and then send him out on loan, but Castagna has excluded that possibility.

"We would say no, clearly," he said. "He's playing regularly now and has plenty of objectives with Fiorentina, with the cups and the league. Then we'll see what decision we will take.

"If you decide to join a top club then it's obvious you're competing with other good goalkeepers, but if you join one of the top 10 clubs in Europe, then it's an opportunity you've obviously got to fight for."