Real Madrid table €150 M bid to edge past Juventus in Paul Pogba race, Juve offer €50 M + Moise Kean for top Barcelona target, 10 July 2019
Hello and welcome to the Serie A news and rumours of the day! As usual, there are many exciting stories from the rumour mill to read. So, let's take a look at the top stories of the day surrounding the Italian league.
PSG's Leonardo reveals stance over several Serie A players
PSG have recently appointed Leonardo as their new director after the Brazilian left AC Milan. Many reports have linked the French champions with a plethora of Serie A players due to Leonardo's experience with Milan. Rossoneri starlet Gianluigi Donnaruma is said to be one of PSG's top transfer targets.
The Ligue 1 outfit have reportedly offered Alphonse Areola plus cash for the Italian shot-stopper. However, Leonardo stated that goalkeeper is not a priority for PSG, despite the club losing Gianluigi Buffon to Juventus. Buffon decided to return to Italy after spending just a season with the French club.
“A goalkeeper is not a priority. We have Kevin Trapp, Areola, Bulka and a fourth goalkeeper, Garissone Innocent. That is the reality of the situation today,” Leonardo said.
The PSG director also spoke about Matthijs de Ligt. De Ligt has been heavily linked to Juventus, and the defender's agent Mino Raiola confirmed that the deal is close to completion.
PSG and Barcelona have also been linked with the 19-year-old, but Leonardo revealed that the Dutch star would not come to PSG. The French club also have no plan to go for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who could be an alternative to de Ligt.
“No, De Ligt will not come to PSG. There was a possibility, he is a formidable player, but this is not the right time to make such a big investment. We must calm down a little, as we don’t just have €200m to spend lying around.
“As for Kalidou Koulibaly, he is a very expensive player too. There is no specific plan for the Napoli defender at the moment.”
The Brazilian was asked if Blaise Matuidi could return to PSG after Adrien Rabiot decided to join Juventus.
“I love Matuidi and have a great deal of admiration for him, but PSG already have a lot of strong players in midfield, and you can only play 11 at a time.
“I did not try to convince Rabiot to stay and extend his contract. I just made contact with his mother to say hello, but the matter was already well advanced for them, so we didn’t intervene.”