Juventus set to offer player-plus-cash to land highly-rated Serie A midfielder - Reports

Juventus are ready to offer a player along with cash to land the highly-rated Sassuolo midfielder Manuel Locatelli this summer, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato (via Sportslens.com).

According to the aforementioned source, Juventus are willing to offer 19-year-old Nicolo Rovella to Sassuolo to sweeten the Locatelli deal. Rovella is currently on loan at Genoa, the club from which Juventus signed him for €20 million this January.

Juventus face an uphill battle to sign Manuel Locatelli. Sassuolo have put an asking price of £38 million for their star midfielder. The Old Lady are trying to reduce the asking price by offering Rovella as a part of the deal.

However, Juventus are not the only side interested in signing Locatelli. Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also shown interest in signing the 23-year-old. But Locatelli is keen to stay in Italy, which gives Juventus an upper hand over their rivals.

Manuel Locatelli has had a career renaissance since leaving AC Milan for Sassuolo in 2018. The youngster was deemed surplus to requirements by the Rossoneri before establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in Serie A.

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(☀️) Manuel Locatelli 🇮🇹 remains the priority for Juventus to reinforce the midfield. [@DiMarzio] #Juventus pic.twitter.com/8evXzeifZA

— RouteOneFootball (@Route1futbol) June 7, 2021

Juventus need new midfielders to reinforce their squad for next season

Juventus are in dire need of bolstering their squad with new midfielders. Arthur Melo was a big-money arrival from Juventus but has failed to adapt to life in Italy. Aaron Ramsey, on the other hand, is supposedly not in manager Max Allegri's plans for next season.

This leaves Manuel Locatelli as Juventus' primary transfer target this summer. New manager Massimiliano Allegri is keen on reshaping the midfield after Juventus surrendered a nine-year Serie A domination to Inter Milan last season.

Allegri wants to add a defensive midfielder to the ranks for which Manuel Locatelli is the most ideal candidate. Locatelli's amazing run of form with Sassuolo has earned him a place in Roberto Mancini's Italian squad for the upcoming Euro 2020. Mancini wants Manuel Locatelli to play a similar role to what Allegri wants him to do for Juventus, which is to play as a defensive midfielder.

Apart from being a defensive midfielder, the 23-year-old is also excellent at ball control, dribbling and has a great long shot within him which can see him being used in an advanced role as well.

Sassuolo CEO Carnevali about Manuel Locatelli’s future: “We’ll decide after the Euros, we want to make Manuel happy [selling him this summer]. Many clubs from top European leagues are interested in him”, he told Tuttosport. 🇮🇹 #transfers

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 3, 2021