Real Madrid offer player plus €80m for Juventus target, Juve ready to swap Higuain with Roma star and more Serie A news: 26 April 2019
Hello and welcome to the Serie A news and rumours of the day! Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories of the day surrounding the Italian league.
Real Madrid set to offer Odegaard plus cash for Matthjis de Ligt
Real Madrid are reportedly set to disrupt Barcelona and Juventus' pursuit of the Ajax defender Matthjis de Ligt. The Dutch starlet has garnered attention across Europe for his scintillating displays in the present campaign.
Barcelona are said to be the favorites to land the 19-year-old, but Juventus have also identified the Ajax product as a priority target and the Italian giants have not given up on the chase so far. However, Real Madrid are also lurking to snatch the player and are ready to offer Martin Odegaard plus €80 million cash to Ajax for De Ligt.
Odegaard has failed to establish himself as a Real Madrid regular, following his much-hyped transfer from Stromsgodset four years ago. Despite the failure, the Norwegian wunderkind has been in good form at his loan club Vitesse and has garnered the attention from Ajax.
Juventus ready to swap Higuain with Manolas
It is understandable that Gonzalo Higuain is highly unlikely to stay at Chelsea beyond this season. The Argentine striker, who joined the Blues on a loan deal until the end of the season in January, is yet to convince Maurizio Sarri as he has managed to score just four times.
However, Juventus have another plan for Higuain. The Old Lady are reportedly prepared to offer the misfiring striker to AS Roma in exchange for Kostas Manolas. Roma have been searching for a striker as Edin Dzeko looks set to depart the club..
Juventus, on the other hand, are searching for suitable replacements for their aging defensive line. Manolas' release clause stands at €36 million and the player has been linked numerous times with Manchester United.
Cancelo thanks Inter for allowing him to sign for Juventus
Joao Cancelo has established himself as one of the highly-rated full-backs in the Serie A, thanks to his excellent spells at Inter Milan and Juventus.
The player has spoken of how grateful he is to Inter for allowing him to move to their Serie A rivals Juventus.
"When I arrived in Italy it was a radical change for me, I came from Spain where technique is preferred, while here tactics are a really fundamental part.
"Luciano Spalletti helped me a lot, even when learning defensive concepts: I am grateful, for me the months at Inter were very important, they allowed me to come to Juventus, the best club in Italy, with Mr. Massimiliano Allegri, one of the best in the world and a great person, from whom I still have to learn a lot.
"This year I learned a lot, with great people, great friends and even great professionals. I want to continue in Juventus, continue to write my future here. I have improved a lot in a year spent here in so many ways.
"When you train with the better, automatically better too. When you train with players like Douglas, Ronaldo, Dybala, Alex Sandro, but also Bonucci and Chiellini you also improve the aspects in which you are most lacking.
"I want to improve a lot and become one of the best. The beginning impressed me the most in my first days here was Pjanic, he is a very intelligent player, even before receiving the ball, he already knows what to do and at first he hit me. He is really a great player."
Cancelo, who spent the 2017/18 campaign on loan at Inter, joined Juventus on a five-year deal from Valencia last summer.