Juventus are believed to be in the hunt for a holding midfielder despite the recent acquisition of Miralem Pjanic from rivals Roma. Reports from Italy say that Nemenja Matic who had a disastrous season at Chelsea last year could be one of the targets.
After having made their intentions clear this season Juventus have been linked to several midfielders this season from Mkhitaryan who is on the verge of joining Manchester United, Kovacic and Mascherano to Leicester’s N’Golo Kante and Zenit’s Axel Witsel.
The Reports from England and Italy
The news of Juve “working behind the scenes” to facilitate a transfer for the Serbian star who has had two very contrasting seasons at Chelsea comes from Sportitalia pundit Alfredo Pedulla. Apparently Chelsea’s €20 million valuation of the 28 year old does not bewilder Juventus who are looking to find a squad rotation player who can deliver the goods when summoned.
With Cuadrado likely to be called back to London because of their new coach’s obvious admiration for the Colombian, Juve and Chelsea are likely to meet once again to discuss the transfer of Matic who rejoined Chelsea two seasons ago from Benfica. The player is reported to be tied to a long term contract with Chelsea till 2019, but a potential offer could change that.
The Season is Long and Full of Terrors
Despite already boasting world class quality at their disposal with the likes Khedira, Pogba, Marchisio and the recently acquired Miralem Pjanic, Juve want more quality on the bench as their squad depth was questioned in the early part of first season and in the Champions League. Juventus had overcome the former but faltered at the latter.
Marchisio is ruled out with injury till October and ex-Real defensive midfielder Sami Khedira is very injury prone. Infact Khedira’s Euro has come to an end after Italy put Germany through that Quarter Final hellfire which tested the world champions to their limits.
A potential transfer, however, is unlikely without Conte’s consent. The Italian is expected to join Chelsea training ground after a short holiday. Till then it is highly unlikely that Chelsea will even discuss the possibility of transferring Matic to Juventus.
