Striker Denis rejected Real Madrid offer

The agent of Napoli striker German Denis has claimed that Real Madrid enquired about his client before making their move for Ajax’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The 27-year-old Argentinian has scored five goals in 14 appearances since moving to Naples last summer and his representative, Leo Rodriguez, says that Denis is going nowhere.

He told Radio Gol: “German is happy at Napoli. So much so that recently when a big Spanish side approached us, we said that Denis has no intention of leaving Naples.

“The club in question simply asked if there was any way we would negotiate, but we said no.

“German isn't used to not playing or being substituted. It's logical that he always wants to play, but he has no problems at Napoli.”

Udinese coach Pasquale Marino was delighted to see his side secure a place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb.

Goals from Fabio Quagliarella and Christian Obodo made it three victories out of three in Group D for Udine, who have lost their last four games in Serie A.

Marino said after the win over their Croatian visitors: “We still need to get a result against NEC Nijmegen in the final game, because we are not mathematically sure of the top spot and must sweat for the point.

“It was important to win and let the players regain the confidence in their own abilities.

“When you don't get results, it takes a little while to find your rhythm again, tonight we did that. It is a victory that counts above all for our morale.”

Marino will hope that his side can use the victory as a springboard for an improvement on the domestic front, with their next outing a trip to Bergamo to take on Atalanta this weekend.