The extension of the former Sassuolo player until 2028 is official, the announcement is also awaited for Fagioli, while the Bianconeri are pushing for the City midfielder. The Hojbjerg hypothesis resists
– Turin
The road that leads to the championship is long and full of pitfalls. A first indication for Juventus will probably come as early as November 26th, when in the direct clash with Inter (which will be played at the Allianz Stadium) the Bianconeri will attempt to overtake, assuming they don’t make any missteps against Cagliari. In the meantime, however, the management is already looking at the January transfer window, because the gap with the Nerazzurri exists, especially in terms of the depth of the squad, and the suspensions of Paul Pogba and Nicolò Fagioli have made the situation worse. If you want to try to keep up the pace of this start to the season (26 points in 11 games, never so good since 2019-20, when the Lady celebrated the last scudetto) and also the pace of the Nerazzurri league leaders, keeping the ambitions alive tricolors, it will be necessary to shore up the team and above all retouch the midfield, the most difficult department. And it is in this direction that the club is moving, both with renewals and by selecting ready players to bring to Turin. From the extension of Manuel Locatelli announced yesterday (today it could be Fagioli’s turn) to the English mission at the beginning of the week, to try to give Massimiliano Allegri one or two reinforcements: the Lady raises for the tricolour.
Armored location
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“Juventus has always been home for me, always been a matter of family and will always be part of my heart. I am honored and very happy with this renewal. I will give my all for these colors as I always have”: this is how Locatelli celebrated the official signing until 2028 with a slight adjustment of the salary (from approximately 2.5 to 3 million), reiterating his love for the club he chose in the summer of 2021 and with which he has not yet won anything. He hopes to achieve it this year, after a very troubled season due to the well-known off-field events (10 points penalty for capital gains and exclusion from the cups). Loca is the cornerstone of a midfielder who in the summer toyed with the idea of finding his star, Pogba, who recovered from injuries but was stopped due to testing positive for Covid, and who also found themselves having to do without Fagioli (suspended for bets). For this reason, Cristiano Giuntoli and Giovanni Manna have been working for some time to identify an experienced midfielder ready for Serie A, who can allow the Lady to make the leap in quality.
Experience wanted
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In England the two took the first steps for Kalvin Phillips, City’s English midfielder who is not one of Guardiola’s favourites, receiving the player’s first yes to moving to Turin and also the club’s willingness to let him leave in January. An operation that could be done on a dry loan and which would see Juventus favored because they do not play in the Premier League (City does not want to strengthen a contender for the title) nor the cups. A part-time transfer that would be convenient from an economic point of view but non-repayable. Juventus will evaluate the pros and cons of the deal (Phillips earns 5 million euros a year) before coming back to the English with more defined ideas. Allegri’s opinion will also be important. Phillips is a defensive midfielder who mainly plays midfielder, he can also play in the middle but does not have playmaking qualities. In England Giuntoli and Manna also had an exploratory chat with Tottenham for the Dane Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who, however, Spurs would only like to remove permanently (he costs around 30 million) and are not yet convinced that they want to do so, given that midfield will lose Sarr and Bissouma for the Africa Cup of Nations in January. The player’s will may be decisive, as he is not happy with his poor use (372 minutes played so far). Hojbjerg is more of a playmaker than Phillips but like the Englishman he doesn’t know Serie A. Unlike Rodrigo De Paul, another midfielder who is liked and who has an Italian past with Udinese, but who Atletico doesn’t want to give up. Also on the list are Lazar Samardzic from Udinese (who has more quality but less experience than the other three) and the goal-scoring Domenico Berardi, who however would be an additional solution for the attack. Difficult but not impossible, especially if Juventus were to decide to make two shots instead of one, taking advantage of Phillips’ loan.
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