During the abrupt news conference held before Juventus’s final game of the season, Juventus disclosed coach Massimiliano Allegri’s leave from the Italian Club during the summer. As Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo sat out the match in order to rest for Portugal’s Nations League Finals which take place next month, the remainder of the squad played in their final game with their current coach. Now, Juventus looks for other possible managers to take the place of Allegri, who is leaving most probably due to his failure to acquire the Champions League title despite having Ronaldo on the roster. One of Juventus’s top priorities for filling in his gap on the bench is Maurizio Sarri, the manager of Premier League giants Chelsea. Upon talking to their sporting director, the Italian manager has revealed 3 transfer targets that may join Juventus over the summer on the occasion that Sarri becomes their manager. These targets include defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and Faouzi Ghoulam along with midfielder Allan, who are surprisingly all from Serie A runners-up Napoli. Moreover, Jose Mourinho is also another candidate rumored to be at the Allianz Stadium in the 2019-20 season. However, regardless of Ronaldo’s praise of the manager, the 56-year may not be joining Juventus due to being outside of their price range. Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino and former Juventus captain Antonio Conte are amongst some other possible replacements for Allegri.
On the other hand, in the Premier League, Manchester United looks to improve their defense, specifically the right-back, which proved responsible for many of their losses in their matches. Many players such as Ashley Young and Diogo Dalot have demonstrated their incapability in the said position, and, as a result, have been featured in other positions. After having been priced out of acquiring Aaron Wan-Bissaka to fill the spot, coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been forced to focus their attention towards other contenders, which include but are not limited to Thoman Meunier and Mattias de Ligt. Although they face competition from Barcelona in getting hold of de Ligt, the Red Devils over-take the Spanish Club by offering £65 million as well as a £350,000-a-week contract. Solskjaer also wants to target the strengthening of other parts of the defense and will be aiming to have Junior Firpo transfer over as a result. United is said to be ready to sign the 22-year-old in a £26 million deal.
Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos also gears up to leave Real Madrid after 14 years of playing for the La Liga giants. The locker room meeting that took place after Madrid’s Champions League loss to Ajax included a heated discussion as President Florentino Perez called the squad “disgraceful” blaming them for the club’s mistakes. Upon attesting that Perez was also responsible for their performance’s incompetence, Ramos was threatened to be kicked out and replied by agreeing to leave. As a result, the 33-year-old is now considering leaving the club during this summer transfer window as Madrid looks for a replacement. It is said that the Spanish club will be aiming to obtain 2019 player of the year, Virgi van Dijk, but Liverpool is uninterested in giving away a key player responsible for much of their success this season making this transfer very unlikely.
Concurrently, Vitesse star midfielder, Martin Odegaard’s talents in making plays have been recognized. Having scored 11 goals with 12 assists, the 20-year-old, loaned from Madrid, has been named the player of the season from Vitesse and is included in the XI of the season of Eredivisie, a league from the Netherlands. Naturally, countless teams such as the likes of Champions League finalists Ajax want the youth’s capabilities to be put to use on their team and have even offered 20 million euros. However, it is said that Odegaard will not be allowed to leave permanently this summer and is most likely going to be loaned to a team from a better league such as the Bundesliga or the La Liga. Being at the center of Vitesse’s plays, Odegaard has displayed his abilities, and, as a result, Madrid is unwilling to hand over the 20-year-old to Ajax or any other team due to his potential not being worth their offer.
Similarly, 19-year-old Joao Felix, who has been compared to Ricardo Kaka, a soccer legend, has caught the eye of Premier League giants Manchester City and Manchester United. Having been rated as one of the most promising soccer players since Ronaldo and praised by Carlos Carvalhal for his excellent playmaking and dribbling skills, the young international has earned a spot on the Portuguese senior team and is set to play in the Nations League alongside the likes of five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Manchester United have offered Beneficia 120 million euros offering the youth a contract worth 6 million euros a year to acquire the prodigy in their roster. It is said that the youth is to replace his seniors in the club including Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez grated that he joins the Red Devils. Even so, United is not the only team keen on having Felix join them this summer. Manchester City is also looking to have Joao Felix transfer. Although they are yet to make a move yet, City plans to replace Leroy Sane with the much more capable forward and are likely to make an offer.
Simultaneously, as City looks to gain a player, they will also be losing their captain. After 11 years of defending and leading the English team, Vincent Kompany has become somewhat of a legendary icon in the Etihad stadium. Nevertheless, the Belgian superstar has announced his decision of leaving the Sky Blues as he convinced his hometown team of Anderlecht to hire him as their player-manager, a player of a team that holds both playing and coaching duties. Even though for Kompany, this would mean abandoning his team at the peak of their performance, he would also be helping his own hometown team rise up the ranks to be more prominent.
In Real Madrid, coach Zinedine Zidane looks for replacements for defender Marcelo. As mentioned above, Junior Firpo is a transfer target of Manchester United. However, it is said that Madrid is also in competition for acquiring the youth. Even so, in all of the candidates for left back replacements, Zidane seems to prioritize Ferland Mendy, the Lyon defender that has made himself one of the more prominent defenders in all of Europe, having participated in many goals on top of having great defending skills. Lyon has already responded by demanding bids only over 70 million euros, but, with Zidane’s 300 million euro budget, Mendy’s transfer is likely. Nonetheless, they do face competition for the 23-year-old from teams such as Manchester United.
Juventus is yet another team that is looking to upgrade their defense and view PSG defender Marquinhos as an ideal addition. The Italian club is looking to offer more than £39 million in order to have the 25-year-old’s versatile defending skills at their club. Medhi Benatia, Merih Demiral, and Jorginho are also some of Juventus’s potential targets for defense. However, with their tiny budget, the Turin club will not be able to obtain all of these players.
Using their seemingly endless budgets, Manchester United is all over the place with transfer targets and now aim to also get a hold of Antoine Griezmann. The forward’s move from Atletico Madrid was confirmed as he was rumored to be headed to Barcelona, who were willing to sign him for £108 million. However, now that the La Liga winner encounters some doubts about spending that amount of money, Manchester United make their move. Not only would the 28-year-old’s move help strengthen the Devil’s defense, but it would also help Manchester United stop Pogba’s transfer. The two players have strong ties from playing together on the French National team, giving reason for Paul Pogba to stay at Old Trafford rather than going to Real Madrid who he has been closely tied with. Furthermore, with no home remaining at Atletico, Griezmann might be forced to join Manchester United as Barcelona stalls.
On the other hand, the chances of Hazard’s transfer to Madrid shrink as Chelsea demands £130 million for their lead striker. The Premier League team place their star striker at great value due to Hazard’s importance in the team’s success. However, as the Belgian international’s contract enters its final months, Los Blancos weigh his value at no more than £88 million suggesting that Hazard might be staying at Stamford Bridge in the upcoming transfer windows.
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