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Udinese have sent shockwaves around Serie A by confirming that Vincenzo Iaquinta has been frozen out of the squad for refusing to sign a contract extension.

“With great personal regret I realised today that Iaquinta is the only one of our lads who doesn’t see himself as part of the Udinese project aimed at achieving certain goals,” explained director general Pietro Leonardi in a statement on the official club website this evening.

“All of the other players in the squad proved their deep faith in the essence of Udinese by each renewing their contracts without exception. Iaquinta has today placed himself outside of the project.”

Iaquinta was not part of the squad set to face Juventus on Wednesday evening and, at first, it had been reported that he was suffering from flu symptoms.

However, the shock truth emerged and Udinese have chosen to freeze out the man who scored a hat-trick in their Champions League debut against Panathinaikos.

“In the hope that he can take a more reasonable attitude, for the good of the squad we will in the meantime leave space to those who believe in the objectives of the group.”