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Hello and welcome to the Serie A news and rumours of the day! As usual, there are some really big stories in the mill today. So, without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories of the day surrounding the Italian league.
Juventus ready to pay the release clause of Real Madrid target
Juventus are willing to trigger Julian Brandt's release clause, according to a report from Italy. The German rising star has been linked with a move to several European giants, including Real Madrid and Liverpool.
He has been a regular for Leverkusen for the last 3 seasons at just 22 years old. This season the German starlet has scored 4 times and amassed 10 assists in 27 appearances for the Bundesliga side. However, his release-clause stands at just €25 million which would not serve as a problem to Juventus.
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Brandt has been deployed mostly as a central midfielder but he could play in several more-advanced roles. He will be one of Juventus's long-term investments if the Old Lady decide to pay his release-clause.
James Rodriguez willing to join Napoli
The Real Madrid star's father-in-law has revealed that the Colombian midfielder would like to play for Napoli. Real Madrid bought James, who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich, for a record-shattering €80 million in 2014 but the Bavarians have an option to buy him for just €42 million. However, the German giants are yet to decide whether to trigger the purchase option at the end of the season.
“James Rodriguez would like to play in Italy and of course at Napoli,” said Hernan Ospina.
“My daughter Daniela told me that he has a great relationship with Carlo Ancelotti and would be happy to reunite with him.
“I think he would one day like to play in Italy and of course at a big club like Napoli. All Colombian players would like to have an experience in Serie A.
“The appeal of the championship has increased a lot since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus.”
Fiorentina appoint Vincenzo Montella to replace Stefano Pioli
The Serie A outfit have officially appointed Montella as their new head coach. La Viola's previous manager Stefano Pioli has left the club after a series of disappointing results. However, the manager's departure has sparked some controversy as Pioli seems to be offended with the club.
Pioli wrote a harsh statement about Fiorentina in his lengthy note. The Serie A side were quick to defend themselves and tried to cool the tense situation afterwards.
"We think Pioli is a serious person who has always behaved in the best possible way with us. Said that, we think that his behaviour it's impossible to be justified as he suddenly left the club in a situation which is now hard to be handled," the club stated.
"We offended nobody and we think that his resignation have nothing to do with our previous statement."
