The agent of Juventus midfielder Marko Pjaca says moving to Schalke was his only option.

Pjaca has joined Schalke on-loan to the end of the season.

“Pjaca is a Juventus player who is on loan to Schalke," explained Marko Naletilic.

“He's mentally stronger than before because he's trained with great players and a really well-prepared Coach like [Max] Allegri.

“His objective is to play consistently and help his new Coach reach the Champions League.

“His idea is to return to Juventus as a protagonist, because if he's physically OK he won't accept another season like this one.

“The lad understood after the match against Bologna, where he didn't play even a minute, that he didn't have much space.

“To get to the World Cup he decided to go out on loan so we asked Juventus if that was a possibility, it was the player's idea and not the club's.

“[Giuseppe] Marotta and [Fabio] Paratici [the general manager and sporting director] listened to us, accepted the choice and insisted on a loan with no buyout clause.

“Our problem was choosing a club where Marko would play, it was pointless going just to be on the bench again.

“A lot of teams showed interest in him and it's not respectful to say who we turned down.

“There were a lot of clubs in Germany, including Wolfsburg, we were honoured by their interest but they came in too late.

“Schalke, on the other hand, through their Coach Domenico Tedesco - who is very talented and has a big future ahead of him - and Christian Heidel showed confidence in Pjaca and convinced him to accept their offer.

“Now it's up to him to demonstrate what everyone thinks he can do."