Juventus Transfers: World-class Serie A midfielder may be out of reach

Juventus will most likely pursue a big-name midfielder in the summer 2021 transfer window, even if they decide to make Weston McKennie’s move from Schalke permanent. The club has found a regular starter in Arthur and has two serviceable midfielders in Rodrigo Bentancur and Adrien Rabiot, but there is a level of technical class missing in Turin.

In general, Juventus are known for their excellent midfield play, and perhaps the lack of star power in that area of the pitch is responsible for the recent lack of true dominance, specifically in the Champions League.

A reunion with Paul Pogba or a hot pursuit of a top young talent like Houssem Aouar or Manuel Locatelli could make sense. But Juventus have also been frequently linked with a man who has been recognized as Serie A’s best midfielder over the past several years – Udinese’s superstar Rodrigo de Paul.

Recently, the trail has cooled on de Paul, who was not mentioned in as many transfer rumors this winter as in windows past.

Can Juventus afford to sign any world-class midfielder this summer?

According to Fabrizio Romano writing in Calciomercato.com, Juventus do not wish to commit the 40 million euros that Udinese require for a Rodrigo de Paul transfer. Udinese know how valuable de Paul is to their club and understand what he could add to the biggest club in Italy. They are driving a hard bargain – and rightfully so.

Romano specifically states that Juventus “have never” given serious thought to spending that kind of money on the 26-year-old midfielder. He adds that because of Juve’s investment in young wide midfielder Federico Chiesa, they have less funds to make a splash on Udinese’s gem.

Of course, the report from Romano with regards to de Paul raises questions about Pogba, Aouar, and Locatelli. All three players are rated higher than de Paul, and so you’d think Juventus would have to part ways with even more cash/assets for one of those players.

But at the same time, Juve may be more willing to make a move for those midfielders if they prefer them to de Paul, either because they are better in 2021 or because they will be better for longer due to their age/upside.

As it stands, de Paul is having another tremendous season for Udinese with five goals, 3.3 dribbles completed per game, and 2.5 key passes per game, according to WhoScored.com. It is not a stretch to say that the long-time Serie A standout is a world-class midfielder who is worth the price. But with swaps out of the question, the Bianconeri just might not have the money to spend 40 million euros straight-up.