Juventus identify 22-year-old forward as new strike partner for Cristiano Ronaldo — Reports

Reigning Italian champions Juventus have identified another potential striker partner for Cristiano Ronaldo in Gianluca Scamacca, as per reports.

The 6'5" Italian striker, currently on loan at Genoa from Sassuolo, was previously linked with a move to the Old Lady back in January. However, the two clubs could not come to an agreement for the former PSV Eindhoven player, with the speculation regarding a move to Turin eventually dying down.

After a long goal drought, Scamacca was back on the scoresheet with a superb brace to fire Genoa to a comeback win against Parma. The 22-year-old's name has reportedly returned to Juventus' striker shortlist as they look for suitable players to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in attack.

4 - Gianluca #Scamacca (born in 1999) is the youngest Italian player able to score at least 4 goals in the current Serie A campaign. Recover.#ParmaGenoa

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 19, 2021

Sassuolo have demanded a fee of €25m for the signing of the Italian forward, but Juventus were not willing to pay as much. Instead, they insisted on a loan with an option to purchase, which was turned down by the Neroverdi who wanted to make it an obligation instead.

The report claims that both sides have decided to resume negotiations for the towering Italian youngster and it remains to be seen if they can find an agreement. Scamacca is not the only Sassuolo player Juventus are interested in, however, as they Andrea Pirlo is also known to be a huge admirer of defensive midfielder Manuel Locatelli.

---

Juventus continue to monitor other options to bolster strike options along with Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus v Spezia Calcio - Serie A

While Andrea Pirlo and Juventus continue their rebuild, they have reportedly kept tabs on several other strikers to bolster their options in attack. Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo has been the go-to combination for the Italian champions this year but the club have come up short when either one of them are not on the pitch.

With Paulo Dybala's future up in the air, Juventus have monitored the likes of Olivier Giroud, Edin Dzeko, Youssef En-Nesyri, and several other potential players to partner Cristiano Ronaldo up front. A recent report has even linked Juventus with a stunning move for Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann.

President Andrea Agnelli presents @Cristiano a special #CR770 shirt to mark his extraordinary record! 🐐⚽️#CR7JUVE pic.twitter.com/lFJgb11iZZ

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) March 21, 2021

Cristiano Ronaldo's future itself has been a topic of much debate in recent weeks on the back of their shock exit from the UEFA Champions League. However, Juventus chief Fabio Paratici has come out to quell the speculation regarding the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's exit.

Juventus director Fabio Paratici to Sky Sport: “We’ve decided to keep Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s the best player in the world and he’ll stay with us”. 🇵🇹 #Juventus

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 21, 2021

Juventus fell to a rather astonishing defeat to Benevento at home, making it their first defeat to the Stregoni in their history. Cristiano Ronaldo could not repeat his heroics from the previous gameweek where he scored a spectacular hat-trick to fire his side to a win against Cagliari.

---