Juventus, Phillips takes action after Pogba

More than a new Octopus, Paul Pogba’s heir could be a Pitbull. Not an Edgar Davids clone, a unique and difficult to reproduce specimen, but something similar. Temperament and strength combined with a good technique and good football: Kalvin Phillips, 27 years old, English midfielder for Manchester City. The January transfer window is less than two months away and consultations for the midfield continue at Juventus after the forced suspensions of Pogba (suspended as a precautionary measure for doping) and Nicolò Fagioli, disqualified until May for the betting case. Hierarchies may still change, but something is starting to move. And an important signal – or rather, a concrete clue – comes indirectly from England. Phillips is playing very little – 6 appearances between the Premier League and Cups, 168′ in total -, he is closed by that totem of Rodri and for a while he has started looking around with the aim of changing shirts at the beginning of 2024 to be launched at ‘European Championship in June. Several clubs, and as many emissaries, have recently approached the former Leeds player to investigate the situation further. And a couple of suitors received the same response. The message goes more or less like this: pay attention to Juventus for January. From the exploratory contacts of recent weeks we moved on to more in-depth surveys. So much so that in the Premier’s lounges, where the name had already circulated, they are convinced that the discussions will continue because the six-monthly Phillips-Signora marriage can suit everyone. To the player, to Manchester City, to Juventus and also to England. Thus, imagining the race for the Juventus midfielder as a sort of Formula 1 GP, Phillips is reported to be in the fast lane compared to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid) and Lazar Samardzic (Udinese), still in the black and white list and held in high regard by the director Cristiano Giuntoli and the director Giovanni Manna.

City’s assist

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It is not yet time for lunges and definitive choices, but Phillips is certainly an increasingly concrete option. The technical reasons are intertwined with the economic ones. If the player’s international depth is not in question, in the end it could be the conditions offered by Manchester City that make the difference. The English are evaluating a dry loan, for six months (from January to June), and above all they would prefer to “rent” Kalvin to a club that does not compete for the Premier League and the Champions League, of which they are reigning champions. Anything but a detail for Juventus which, despite the 200 million capital increase launched by the owners, without the revenues from the Champions League has the need to strengthen the team with creativity and pursuing the path of sustainability. Signing a strong and solid midfielder – even if more of a center midfielder than a midfielder in recent years – would allow Juventus not to commit beyond June and also to be able to evaluate a second reinforcement (in the middle, in the midfield or in defence) to provide Massimiliano Allegri with more ammunition for the second part of the season and for the championship sprint.

competition

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If Juventus is there and evaluates a possible assist from City, Phillips has other suitors in the Premier League (Tottenham, Newcastle) and among the big European teams (Bayern). Juventus is an option that fascinates the Englishman, partly for the club’s reputation and partly for the possibility of playing as a starter. Ideal aspects to arrive in shape at the European Championship. But a definitive choice, as is normal in November, has not yet been made. New opportunities, both for Phillips and for Juventus, can always arise in the next two months.

Hojbjerg and the others

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This is why at Continassa they look at City on the one hand, but on the other they don’t give up on possible alternatives. All valid, still possible but more complicated at the moment for one reason or another. De Paul doesn’t seem to want to put his foot down to leave Madrid, where he is a starter with Diego Simeone, and Atletico values ​​the Argentine at at least 25 million euros. Even higher figure for Hojbjerg, relegated in the hierarchy of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham. But Spurs will lose their two starting midfielders in January: Sarr and Bissouma will be involved in the Africa Cup of Nations for at least a month. Samardzic is always liked a lot, even more so if Udinese were open to a loan with right-obligation to buy, but he would be a different profile from the others in terms of age, experience and room for growth.