The Italy international has been strongly linked with a move away from his Spanish club this summer, with Juve leading the race to acquire his services.

"Juventus and Villarreal are negotiating," Rossi's agent Federico Pastorello told Tuttosport.

"We are optimistic. It's a positive sign that the two clubs are negotiating.

"We hope that the deal will be completed soon.

"It's clear that we are talking about an important player and Juventus are pushing strongly (for the deal to be done) while Rossi would be delighted to move there."

The former Manchester United striker has a £33million buy-out clause.

Rossi enjoyed a fine season in Spain last term, scoring 32 goals in all competitions for the Yellow Submarine.

The 24-year-old, who was a target of Barcelona earlier this summer, is under contract at Villarreal until June 2016.