Buenos Aires, Aug 15 (IANS): The father of Gonzalo Higuain has denied speculation that the Argentinian striker could leave Juventus this summer.

The 32-year-old has a year left on his contract but media reports have linked him with a move to his former club River Plate following a disappointing 2019-20 season in which he scored just 11 goals in 44 matches.

"He is not going to give up his contract to go to any team," Jorge Higuain told Buenos Aires radio station Planeta 947 on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"I think he will fulfill his current contract and only then will he think about going to River or any other club. Right now it's almost impossible for Gonzalo to go to River."

According to media reports, Higuain's future has been clouded by the Juventus board's decision to replace manager Maurizio Sarri with Andrea Pirlo.

Sarri was Higuain's head coach at Napoli and Chelsea and was responsible for the center-forward's move to Turin in July 2019.

Higuain began his professional career at River Plate in 2004 and scored 15 goals in 41 matches for the Buenos Aires outfit before his January 2007 transfer to Real Madrid.