Cash-strapped Juventus are desperate to raise funds to be able to kick off their overdue summer revamp, with the club’s only arrival being goal poacher Jonathan David as a free agent.
Premier League clubs have been touted as potential destinations for midfielder Douglas Luiz and center forward Dusan Vlahovic, but no concrete offers have been made for the pair.
A winter transfer bid from West Ham United for left winger Samuel Mbangula was turned down flat, as the club deemed the U21 Belgium international as an emerging star.
Mbangula scored 23 minutes into his debut, netting against Como on the opening day of the Serie A season last August.
Zero minutes at Club World Cup
His career has been in freefall since Igor Tudor’s arrival in March, as the 21-year-old swiftly fell down the pecking order. At the Club World Cup he failed to play even a single minute.
To add insult to injury in the month-long tournament, he was omitted from the squad that tackled Manchester City in the final group game. The reason cited was that Juventus were trying to push a double deal for the sale of both Mbangula and Timothy Weah for a combined fee of €23 million (US$26.7m) to Nottingham Forest.
This potential transfer collapsed, and with his sudden availability a cluster of European clubs started evaluating the youngster.
AS Monaco appeared to be his next destination rather than a swap deal involving Serie A sides, which would mean lining up alongside former Juve favorite Paul Pogba,
Mbangula’s versatility is greatly admired, as he can be implemented on either flank as well as a secondary striker or as a more conventional no10.
Five-year deal beckons
SV Werder Bremen are now in pole position to secure his signature for €13m (US$15.1m) on a five-year deal with the German giants, with the player’s agent in Turin this week to broker his departure.
Last summer numerous Juventus Next Gen graduates were sold off as part of Project Motta, including defender Dean Huijsen. Mbangula survived the cull although he is very likely to depart the club this summer.
Mbangula’s stop-start breakthrough season resulted in barely more than a thousand minutes in a Juve jersey, with only 11 starts from 32 games. He only made two last-gasp substitute appearances under Tudor.
Having bagged just three Serie A goals appears to have made up Tudor’s mind that the natural winger is not part of his plans. There’s also the fact that the Croatian’s single-mindedness over sticking to his guns with his tried and tested formation does not utilize wide players.
The Turin titans may well be kicking themselves about their change of heart over Mbangula if he starts to produce headline-grabbing displays in the German top tier.