Manuel Locatelli has some suitors and a fresh set of competitors after the early signings by Juventus in the midfield, but his departure isn’t particularly likely and certainly not imminent. The former Sassuolo man has stood out in the early training sessions under Thiago Motta, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.
Olympique Marseille, led by his former mentor Roberto De Zerbi, showed concrete interest in previous weeks. The Bianconeri could evaluate worthy offers, as they plan to do for all their players, but he has better chances of continuing to be part of their squad.
Fiorentina are also tracking Locatelli as they need to rebuild their midfield, but the conditions set by Juventus to do the deal are steep, La Nazione reports (via Blasting News). The Old Lady values him €25M and would sign off only on a permanent deal.
Instead, La Viola probed a loan, with the counterparty contributing to his €3M wages, as they did with Arthur last season. They could try again later on if the terms changed. They are also keen on Roma’s Edoardo Bove.
Our Take on Juventus and Locatelli
It doesn’t look like they’ll sign another man besides Khephren Thuram and Douglas Luiz, other than perhaps Teun Koopmeiners or somebody similar who would star in a more offensive role. Therefore, they’ll need some depth too, and it’s a lot less expensive to keep the pieces they already have. It’s hard to imagine somebody will come in with a large offer for him after a pair of underwhelming seasons, so they might as well try to build him back up.
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