Warsaw, Jun 17 (IANS): Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik is close to signing a contract with Juventus FC on a permanent basis after he declared that he would like to stay in Turin instead of returning to Olympique Marseille.

The 29-year-old spent the previous season on loan at Juventus. The Italian club remains in advanced talks with Olympique Marseille to re-sign the Pole on a permanent deal. Milik is set to stay in Turin as both clubs are close to reaching an agreement, Xinhua reported.

According to the Italian reports, the "Bianconeri" will pay Olympique Marseille 7 million euros as a transfer fee for the Pole.

"After the FIFA World Cup, I caught an injury and I had problems with returning to my top level. In several matches, I played below expectations. However, I feel very well in Juventus, I would like to stay here. I know that coach Massimiliano Allegri wants to keep me in the team", Milik told Polish media on Saturday morning.

"I had a really good start in Juventus but then the season turned out to be very hard for our team. I look forward to the future. I know Juventus representatives are in advanced talks with Olympique Marseille and I hope soon negotiations will be finalized," the striker concluded.

In the previous season, Milik scored 9 goals for Juventus and he added one assist in 39 games.