Allegri: Juventus playing catch up in Serie A

And Allegri, who guided Juventus to the Champions League final last season, is thought to be on the list of contenders.

And Van Gaal has always maintained Ryan Giggs will replace him at United.

Awaiting for tomorrow’s game against Lazio, Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri has talked to the press: “We’re ready to face a very hard game, we can’t afford a false step”.

Allegri, who also won a Scudetto with AC Milan, is contracted to Juventus until 2017.

However, his long-term future is not too much of a concern at the moment, as the 48-year-old told reports that he’s fully concentrating on the current task at hand: “I’m focused on objectives, which is more important than rumours”.

“In a month, there will be the January “mercato” and then you (the media) will be happy to move players from one place to another”.

The Uruguayan striker has repeatedly been linked with a move to Old Trafford – and with Van Gaal looking to boost his strike-force, Cavani could fit the bill. The loss of superstars Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal have clearly had some kind of impact as the club have scored 20 goals on the season – tied for fourth most in Serie A.

The Juventus manager has impressed the club’s hierarchy after winning the title in his first season in Turin.