With Paul Pogba’s uncertain future at the club, Juventus have targetted Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic in a reported £16million transfer coup. According to reports from Daily Star, Serie A Champions are increasingly worried about Manchester United’s growing confidence in signing Pogba this summer which has forced them to look for alternative options.
Despite signing Miralem Pjanic from AS Roma, Juventus want to sign Matic to further sure up their midfield. According to the trusted Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla Juventus are not bothered by Chelsea’s £16million valuation for Matic as they see him as one of the most combative midfielders in Europe.
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Despite his struggles last season, manager Massimiliano Allegri is eager to bring Matic to Turin and build the team around him next season. Matic, 28 enjoyed a successful first year back at Chelsea where he won the Premier League title and was named in PFA’s team of the season.
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However, Serbian International could not match up to his performances the following season which saw him lose his place in the starting XI to John Obi-Mikel. Interim manager Guus Hiddink benched Matic for most part of the last season and it has resulted in Chelsea’s willingness to sell their midfield enforcer.
However, Alfredo Pedulla has maintained a stance that the last decision on Matic’s transfer or stay lies with the incoming manager Antonio Conte. The Italian manager is aware of Chelsea’s need to keep Juventus on good terms as players like Leonardo Bonucci and Juan Cuadrado could be involved in a heated transfer battle this summer.
Matic a surplus to requirement?
There have been plenty of talks of midfield overhaul at Stamford Bridge this summer with likes of Radja Nainggolan, N’Golo Kante and others lined up to be Conte’s key midfield signing. The expected 3-5-2 formation requires Conte to field energetic players in the central midfield area and that is where Matic is seen as a surplus to requirement and could be sold this summer.
Whereas Juventus can do with Matic’s strong presence in their side and given Serie A’s lack of pace and fanatic movements, Matic could really thrive for his proposed new side. With Conte solely focused on the Chelsea job now, we will get a bettdr clarity on Matic’s future in coming days before the club begin their pre-season preparations later this week.
