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Hello and welcome to the Serie A news and rumours of the day! As usual, there are many exciting stories from the rumour mill to read. So, let's take a look at the top stories of the day surrounding the Italian top flight.
Agent hopes Lionel Messi will join Inter Milan
Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi was previously linked with Inter Milan after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus. However, it is understandable that Messi's arrival at Inter is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, Lautaro Martinez's agent Alberto Yaque hopes that the 32-year-old is willing to join Inter to play with his client.
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Martinez has been linked with a move to Barcelona after his impressive spell in the Copa America. The Inter starlet has proven that he can play with Messi, and he could be an excellent replacement for Luis Suarez. Yaque also revealed that Messi praised his client. Unfortunately, Martinez's future could be under threat if Inter manage to sign Romelu Lukaku.
Nevertheless, the agent insists that Lautaro will stay at Inter and suggests that Messi will need to join Inter to play with the 21-year-old.
"Messi's words? Being praised by the best in the world is beautiful and very satisfying," he said.
“Lautaro was extremely happy. These words gave him contentment and the desire to work even harder to improve, learn new details and aim to achieve the goals he set himself one day,"
“It is true that there is interest on the part of the Blaugrana for Martínez. None of the Barcelona representatives has contacted us officially.
“They are rumours that somehow we know to be truthful. But I repeat: Lautaro remains in Milan. If Messi wants to play with Martínez, then he goes to Inter.
“Let's hope. It would be great for the Nerazzurri if that happened."
Juventus agree to cash in on Joao Cancelo
Portuguese right-back Joao Cancelo had a relatively decent debut season at Juventus. Bought for massive €40 million just a year ago, Cancelo managed to claim 22 Serie A starts. He scored a goal and provided 3 assists last season. However, Massimiliano Allegri benched him in several important games, such as in Juventus' Champions League home game with Ajax.
According to a report, Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici agrees with Maurizio Sarri that the club should sell the 24-year-old. The report further states that Barcelona are in pole position to win the player's signature. The Catalans have struggled to find a reliable right-back since Dani Alves left the club in 2016.
Sergi Roberto is more comfortable playing in midfield while Nelson Semedo has failed to live up to expectations. On the other hand, Juventus are said to demand around €60 million for the former Inter star, and they will not accept any swap deal.
Joao Miranda open to a move away from Inter Milan
Brazilian defender Joao Miranda joined Inter for €12 million in 2015. He managed to impress and became a regular in his first 3 seasons at the Milan-based club. However, his game time plummeted after Stefan de Vrij joined the club.
Miranda started just 14 Serie A games last season, and he might soon be shown the exit door following the arrival of Diego Godin. However, he insisted that he will still play for the Brazil national team in the future.
He has gathered interest from AS Roma, Marseille AS Monaco, and the former Atletico star admitted that he would evaluate all offers.
“I tried to switch the phone off during the Copa America so that I could concentrate, but now I will start to analyze the proposals and see what happens over the next few days,” Miranda said.
“I still see myself playing for Brazil in the future, as I am performing at a high level and gave my contribution to the Selecao during this tournament.”
Jeison Murillo joins Sampdoria
Former Inter Milan defender Jeison Murillo has arrived in Genoa ahead of his imminent Sampdoria transfer. Valencia bought the 27-year-old for €13 million just 2 years ago. However, Murillo was unable to earn consistent game time in his debut season at Valencia.
He made a headline when Barcelona decided to sign him on loan until the end of 2018/19 season. However, the Colombian barely earned game time last season, playing for just 202 minutes combined at Barcelona and Valencia.
Now, he is set to start a new chapter with Sampdoria. The Serie A side reportedly signed him for around €14 million. Murillo revealed his excitement over the transfer.
I am very happy to be back in Italy and we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
“Sampdoria are an important club. I hope to give my best. Forza Sampdoria.”
Napoli pushing for James Rodriguez
Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez has been linked to Napoli for some time now. Napoli have confirmed that they are going after the 28-year-old, but Real Madrid are playing hardball over the transfer.
Zinedine Zidane seems unwilling to include the midfielder in his plans. James also failed to impress during his loan spell at Bayern, and the Bundesliga champion has refused to trigger his €42 million buyout option.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed that the Serie A outfit have not given up on the chase and are ready to make a sacrifice. However, the 70-year-old insists that Real Madrid should lower their demand for the player.
“We are all prepared to make sacrifices for James Rodriguez, but we ask Real Madrid to make them too,” the Napoli president said.
He suggests that Madrid should let go of James rather than keeping the wantaway player. Napoli reportedly want to sign the midfielder on loan with an option to buy, and De Laurentiis seems to confirm the idea.
“We’ve not given up, but in order to break the ice we need Madrid to consider that rather than have an unhappy player sitting around, they should send him out to play. Perhaps on loan."
De Laurentiis believes that Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti was the only manager who has got the best out of James. Ancelotti had worked with James at Real Madrid and Bayern.
“It’d be a gift for him. Studying this player, I realized he only ever really delivered on two occasions, both with Carlo Ancelotti on the bench, at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
“For him, this is a guarantee of being satisfied, central to our project and decisive on the field. He has understood that. Ancelotti spoke to him and was able to motivate him.
“We’ll see what happens… we are waiting for the time to be right,” he ended.
