Serie A outfit Juventus is ready to go big for landing its former man and will be willing to sacrifice two of first-team players in the process.
Maurizio Sarri is leading Juventus onto another successive Serie A title, ahead of rejuvenated sides like Inter Milan, Lazio and Napoli. In spite of doing a great job domestically and frankly, like she always does, the Old Lady of Turin has struggled to find form in Europe’s elite competition- the UEFA Champions League.
While making it to ten consecutive Scudetto trophies will be a historic and unparalleled achievement, the Italian giants need to concentrate on getting their focus on the UEFA Champions League. Juve have come close to winning the continental crown twice in the last five years but were thwarted by Barcelona and Real Madrid in the finals.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s signing from Real Madrid in 2018 was expected to be a turning point, but as it has emerged, the Portugal international has been the only player scoring in the UCL knockouts. Ronaldo grabbed all five goals for the side managed by Allegri last year in the round of 16 and quarter-final as it succumbed to a diamond of an Ajax Amsterdam outfit.
In a bid to win their first European Cup in nearly 25 years, the Bianconeri have decided to undertake a major renovation of their midfield in the summer. Barcelona’s Arthur Melo has been linked lately to the club, but the board members also have an eye on former player Paul Pogba and his situation at Manchester United.
Paul Pogba has made himself an outcast to matters at the Old Trafford since a couple of months and has not played a single game for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side since Boxing Day in 2019. A lot had been said about how the player was keen on establishing a partnership with Bruno Fernandes, but talks over his departure have returned once again.
Calcio Mercato has claimed that Andrea Agnelli is willing to sanction a move for the France international this summer. However, the Red Devils’ asking price of 150 million euros may faze the club and hence, Juve are ready to sacrifice both- Miralem Pjanic and Douglas Costa– in a bid to land their ex-midfielder.
Douglas Costa’s inclusion in the deal makes no sense to be honest because the Brazilian has still very much got what it takes to feature week in and week out for Juventus. His speed is the biggest asset for the player as well as his team and the fact that he can dribble with the ball really well will be important for the Old Lady in the process of chance-creation.
On the other hand, getting rid of the Bosnian international Miralem Pjanic could be a judicious move considering that he is 31 years old. The former Roma midfielder has not really shown signs of ageing as yet through his gameplay, but once a player crosses his 30s, the slowdown can be rapid as has been noticed with a lot of players in the past.
Real Madrid had also shown interest in landing Paul Pogba to the Santiago Bernabeu, but it looks like the Spaniards will not sign the Frenchman in spite of Zinedine Zidane’s insistence. Federico Valverde has fired on all guns this season and hence, Pogba is not a necessity for the La Liga giants, plus, they are more inclined towards spending money on Kylian Mbappe.