Juventus News Roundup: Juve want to sign Mallorca star, Bianconeri midfielder linked with Manchester City and more - 9 March 2021
Juventus have identified a record-setting teenager from La Liga as a transfer target.
Juventus have a big match tonight against Porto where they will try to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of their Round of 16 UEFA Champions League tie. Behind the scenes, they are preparing for a busy summer transfer window as Andrea Pirlo remains keen to bolster the squad.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Juventus from 9 March 2021.
Andrea Pirlo confirms Ronaldo was rested against Lazio
Juventus registered a 3-1 win over Lazio at the weekend but Cristiano Ronaldo was missing from the starting lineup. He did come off the bench and Andrea Pirlo has now confirmed that the Portuguese was rested so that he'll be set to take on Porto in the all-important second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie.
Pirlo said:
“Cristiano Ronaldo is fine, these are his matches. He’s fired up, he’s been able to rest and can’t wait."
On other injury concerns, the Juventus boss said:
“[Giorgio] Chiellini trained with the group today, he feels good and I think he can be available tomorrow (Tuesday).
“[Matthijs] De Ligt has worked with the group just in terms of warm-up, then he did an individual training session. Arthur is not at 100 per cent but he could start tomorrow, we are hoping that he can last a while.
“[Federico] Bernardeschi is fine and he has the possibilities to play from the start like the others but tomorrow morning I’ll decide.
Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot linked with Manchester City
Adrien Rabiot has not exactly been able to nail down a starting spot in Andrea Pirlo's system at Juventus. However, he is still an important player in the team. Now, according to Calciomercato (via Juve FC), Manchester City are interested in signing him in the summer.
Juventus find themselves in a precarious financial condition in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and will need to sell some players in the summer to fund other moves.
Pep Guardiola and co. are reportedly impressed with the Frenchman and want him to be the long-term successor to Fernandinho in defensive midfield.
Juventus want to sign Mallorca's Romero
Luka Romero, the youngest player to have played in La Liga, has garnered interest from several top European clubs as he weighs up his future options. According to Goal, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Napoli are interested in signing the 16-year-old Mallorca attacking midfielder.
Romero has been in a position to sign a new deal since he turned 16 but has decided not to put pen to paper just yet. The report adds that Romero's agent is on good terms with Italian teams.