Juventus have dropped the biggest hint yet about whom they want to succeed Fabio Capello when he leaves in 2007. “Luciano Spalletti is a great Coach,” said chief executive Antonio Giraudo.

The Bianconeri landed a coup when they lured Capello away from the Stadio Olimpico to take over as Juve boss in the summer of 2004 and Giraudo hinted that they may raid Roma again when the time comes at the end of next season.

“Spalletti is a great Coach,” he told Sky Italia television. “He is one of the best and he also has the esteem of Marcello Lippi, in whom we place a great deal of faith.

“We have tracked his progress and we will continue to follow him because we are convinced that he is one of the best - not just in Italy but at international level.”

The Roma tactician has made all the right noises about being happy in Rome, but there is no doubt that he would find the plum job in Italian football difficult to resist.

“I am very settled in the capital and I want to stay here,” said the Tuscan tactician yesterday.

Spalletti guided Udinese to the Champions League for the first time in their history last season before leaving for Rome, where he had to contend with a ban on buying players, a disgruntled dressing room and injuries to key players.

Now, though, his hard work is beginning to pay off with the club from the capital shooting from mid-table into Champions League contention after having mustered a club record of nine consecutive League wins.

Spalletti has also received numerous public endorsements from his players, including Francesco Totti, Simone Perrotta and, most recently, Amantino Mancini who rates him as better than Capello.

“Spalletti is an honest person and as a Coach he is more tactically-minded than Capello,” he said. “They are very similar to each other in the way that they manage the side.

“They are very serious in training, when you must always give 100 per cent,” he added. “But technically speaking, Spalletti works more on tactics.

“As a man he is completely straight-up with you,” he continued. “He stayed close to me through my difficult times and he is still here now that things are going well.”