Juventus have scheduled yet another summit with Sassuolo to negotiate for Manuel Locatelli. It will take place Friday, for the first time in Turin. The Bianconeri intend to finally put an end to the transfer saga. The entire brass will show up this time, not just director Federico Cherubini. Andrea Agnelli and new CEO Maurizio Arrivabene will attend it, Alfredo Pedullà reports.
Sassuolo and Juventus are €8/10M apart in the evaluation of the player. The presence of a major representative of ownership could be key. Further investments could be greenlighted on the spot. Juventus are already plotting to improve their bid going into the meeting, the transfer market expert adds.
The Neroverdi are asking for €35M plus add-ons for the Italian starlet. Juventus have come up short of such sum and offered formulas that did not please the counterpart. However, the fact that the midfielder turned down foreign destinations, in particular Arsenal, helped them out.
Juventus could bring back Miralem Pjanic on top of adding Locatelli. Despite the favorable terms of the prospective deal with Barcelona, they need a departure in the midfield, also due to payroll-related motives. The most likely candidate is Aaron Ramsey, who makes €7M per year. Massimiliano Allegri tested him as a deep-lying playmaker in the pre-season, with mixed results.
Sassuolo have already found their replacement. They announced earlier today the signing of Matheus Henrique from Gremio. He joined on a season-long loan from Gremio with a €12M obligation to buy and €3M potential add-ons.