Juventus are going through a rough patch on and off the field, with sporting and financial results causing concern, but that hasn’t stopped the Serie A side thinking about next summer’s transfer market.
The Italian club, currently eighth in Serie A, are keeping tabs on the futures of Marco Asensio and Antoine Griezmann.
Although things haven’t been going to plan so far this season, La Vecchia Signora want to continue their policy of bringing in experienced players to help their young stars grow. That began this summer with Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria.
According to ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’, Juve have a list of potential targets that includes Asensio, Griezmann, Alejandro Grimaldo and Christian Pulisic.
CEO Maurizio Arrivabene believes these players meet the criteria they believe will help bring success in the short and medium term.
Every case is complex
Every name on Juve’s list comes with its own complications, however, and each deal would depend on many factors.
One of these being the club’s difficult financial situation.
For Asensio to be a possibility, the Spanish international would have to be open to, first, leaving his native land as a free agent this summer and, second, choosing Serie A over the Premier League.
The 26-year-old’s priority is to earn a new deal with Real Madrid, but if that doesn’t happen he may still prefer to remain in LaLiga Santander.
With Griezmann, Juve would need Atletico Madrid and Barcelona to fail to negotiate a permanent transfer and then the Frenchman to accept a wage cut to move to Turin.
Grimaldo, meanwhile, may be a slightly simpler operation as he stands to be a free agent at the end of the season and may well fancy a change of scene after seven years at Benfica.
Juve want him to replace the outgoing Alex Sandro at left back.
Then there’s Pulisic, but Juve would need Chelsea to be willing to sell the USA international at a vastly reduced price.
There are a lot of variables here, but Juventus are keeping busy and keeping tabs on all possibilities as they look to strengthen.
