Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
According to GiveMeSport (h/t Football.London), London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal are both interested in signing Juventus and Italy midfielder Manuel Locatelli.
Locatelli, who joined the Old Lady in the summer of 2021 on a two-year loan deal after starring for Italy in the triumphant Euros, has previously rejected a move to the Premier League.
However, Juventus are currently facing a lot of financial trouble, hence they would need to sell some of their players by the end of this season.
Although Locatelli is currently on loan in Turin from Sassuolo till the end of this season, the deal had an obligation for the Serie A giants to buy him this summer. At this moment in time, it looks like they would have to let go of the 25-year-old.
The Italian international has played 65 games in all competitions for Juventus, scoring three goals and assisting five. He has played most of his games as a defensive midfielder and some as a central midfielder.
With what we saw from the former AC Milan midfielder, especially during the Euros, he is comfortable playing the role of a box-to-box midfielder.
In terms of attributes, Locatelli possesses great physical strength, is excellent at passing, can influence games in both boxes and has good game-reading skills.
We all know Chelsea are in the market to bolster their midfield department. Moises Caicedo is still on the radar and there will be a new push to sign Enzo Fernandez this month. Declan Rice favours a move to Arsenal in the summer though.
With Jorginho likely to leave upon the expiry of his contract in the summer and N’Golo Kante’s injury woes not relenting, the Blues may need more than one addition in midfield by the end of the upcoming summer window.
So, it makes sense to keep Locatelli on the radar for a possible end-of-season move. He can offer a lot of good things for us in midfield.
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