The Lady also risks losing Nicolò after Milinkovic. A monstrous proposal is ready to convince the Italian star of Galatasaray
Mother there Turks, it was once said. Fortunately today we do not have the fear of an invasion, as in the past. On the other hand, Juventus are quickly realizing that the petrodollars of Arabia are a new variant to deal with on the market. The Saudis have anticipated the Juventus plans, snatching Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio. And now they have set their sights on another possible target of the Lady: that Nicolò Zaniolo often approached Juve, but never arrived in Turin.
the situation
—
The first talks with the blue owned by Galatasaray have begun in recent days. An intense dialogue that led to the player’s general opening and a first draft of a verbal offer of between 20 and 30 million euros. There is also the team Zaniolo would go to if so: it is the Al Hilal of Koulibaly and Milinkovic. Nicolò isn’t completely convinced yet, but if we get to the figures circulating these days in Turkey (120 million for a four-year contract), he would give his definitive assent. The ball, therefore, is now in the Saudi half of the field, waiting for what could be the decisive offensive already in the next few days.
obstacle
—
Zaniolo, even in a recent interview with the Gazzetta, had not closed the doors to a possible return to Italy, after the “escape” from Rome in February. And Juve, a team he rooted for as a child, was clearly his favorite destination. The first contacts had been made with Galatasaray, but the Juventus club at the moment does not have much room for maneuver in terms of entry. Before buying, Cristiano Giuntoli and Giovanni Manna must necessarily sell. But this impasse meant that Milinkovic slipped into Arabia and the thing risks repeating itself with Zaniolo. The Serbian was the first goal of the black and white summer, with Continassa’s market men convinced that in August, once some outings have been sorted, they would also arrive at checkers with Claudio Lotito. What shuffled the cards was the sudden rain of money that fell on Lazio and on the player from the Middle East. Zaniolo, on the other hand, was still in the field of Juventus ideas for the attack, especially in the event of Federico Chiesa leaving. But with Al Hilal back in the middle, Juventus’ strategies get complicated on that front as well.
Italians
—
Zaniolo, among other things, would be the first big blue to migrate to Saudi Arabia in this summer of large transfers to the Middle East, perhaps anticipating Marco Verratti, another sought-after profile. In the past it was the turn of Roberto Donadoni (at Al Ittihad in 1999-2000) and Sebastian Giovinco (at Al Hilal from 2019 to 2021). Unlike Formica Atomica and Sacchi’s former AC Milan champion, however, he would not go there at the end of his career, but at just 24 years of age. And perhaps behind the reflection of these days there is also the awareness of the risks of leaving the football that counts so early, without the possibility of playing in the Champions League (Galatasaray are in the preliminaries) or in the team of the heart (Juve). Even if, perhaps sooner than expected, the Saudi championship will be among the most coveted around even for young people.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED