Juventus had their first in-person meeting with Sassuolo to discuss Manuel Locatelli yesterday. The negotiation has officially begun as the Neroverdi okayed the sale of their midfielder. However, the sides will convene again next week to iron out the monetary part and other aspects, Sky Sport reports.
The Emilian team has confirmed the €40M price tag and opened to the possibility of getting a player in return. In particular, they are high on Radu Dragusin, who would replace Marlon that left for Shakhtar Donetsk. Juventus desire to complete the transfer with a favorable formula, as it happened with Federico Chiesa. The Italian winger joined on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy at the end and a rich initial fee.
The two clubs diverge on the evaluation of Dragusin. Other youngsters could be inserted in the package to make the math work, such as Felix Correia, Cosimo Marco Da Graca, or Nicolò Fagioli. Juventus would prefer to reach €40M through a partial swap and limit the cash to €30M.
Locatelli so far has given his clear priority to the Bianconeri. The agreement on the contract would be easy to reach, and he would earn around €3M per year. Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund also made interesting proposals, but Juventus are clearly in the lead at this stage. Few more steps will be necessary to finalize the negotiation, but the interest and the will are mutual. It could be just a matter of time before the completion of the deal, transfer market expert Alfredo Pedullà informed.