29-year-old's Barcelona dream shattered, January move ruled out

Xavi Hernandez's plans to bring in another forward during the January transfer window have been dashed with Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri ruling out a move for Alvaro Morata. Barcelona were earlier thought to have been close to an agreement with the Serie A club to bring the Spanish forward to the Camp Nou this month.

Morata was contacted by Xavi about joining his revolution at the Catalan club, with the Spain international giving his consent to the move. He was the Barcelona manager's top target to fill the void left by Sergio Aguero, who was forced to retire from the game owing to heart problems.

A recent report suggested that the Morata to Barcelona deal was "95% complete" with the club close to reaching an agreement with Juventus over a move for the on loan Atletico Madrid forward. However, Allegri has now made it clear that he has no intention of letting the former Real Madrid forward leave until at least the end of the campaign.

"Morata stays here," Allegri said on Wednesday, as quoted on Sport. "He's not leaving this month. We had a face-to-face meeting and I told him: 'You're 100% staying.'"

Juventus are clear that Morata will remain in Turin, and the only chance of his wish to join Barcelona coming true will be if the Turin giants find a suitable replacement on loan until the end of the campaign. Paris Saint-Germain forward Mauro Icardi has been mentioned as a potential candidate, but as per Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, there are no talks between the two clubs at the moment.

Barcelona did sign Ferran Torres from Manchester City in a £46.7 million deal just prior to the start of the January transfer window, but Xavi still remains keen on a traditional number nine. Apart from Morata, the Catalan outfit have also been linked with Manchester United's Edinson Cavani and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.