Juventus Transfers: Alvaro Morata’s Barcelona move stalls

It’s looking more and more likely that Alvaro Morata will stay at Juventus this month despite strong interest from Barcelona.

Barça’s interest in the on-loan Juve forward sprung out of nowhere just before the start of the January transfer window. The Catalans have already bolstered their attack this winter following the retirement of Sergio Aguero by signing Manchester City’s Ferran Torres. They looked set to add Morata to their ranks as well with new manager Xavi a supposed admirer.

However, the deal is a tricky one to pull off considering all the mitigating factors.

Massimiliano Allegri talks to Alvaro Morata over his future

Morata, who’s endured a difficult 2021/22 campaign up to this point, is said to be keen on a move to Catalonia, but the deal is wholly reliant on Juventus bringing in a replacement this month.

And with Juventus struggling on this front, the Bianconeri are unlikely to let Morata hastily depart. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Juve hierarchy and Massimiliano Allegri spoke to the Spanish striker on Monday to tell him that he’ll remain on their books for the remainder of the season if they can’t bring in a striker on loan.

The club plans to identify a stop-gap option in January, with many players linked, before securing their long-term number nine in the summer. Dusan Vlahovic and Gianluca Scamacca are two potential options in this regard.

It’s gone cold on the Mauro Icardi front

PSG forward Mauro Icardi appeared the most likely short-term answer for Juventus this month. However, Romano reports that there’s “still nothing advanced” for the Argentine, while Gianluca Di Marzio adds that Juve’s Icardi pursuit has gone “cold”.

The club are rightly reluctant to commit to Icardi for more than six months considering his hefty salary.

Di Marzio also speculates that Scamacca could be Juve’s priority in June.