Juventus are on the hunt for an addition to their midfield and seem to have honed in on one of Liverpool’s important first team players.
Italian publication Corriere dello Sport have recently claimed that Serie A champions Juventus are scouring Liverpool midfielder Emre Can. The report states that Can is a target for next summer, and Juve scouts were sent to monitor him during the North-West derby against Manchester United.
Two of the other top targets for Juventus in this regard are Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Monchengladbach and Corentin Tolisso of Olympique Lyon. The latter remains the priority target, but the Old Lady could shift the interest to Can if Les Gones’ asking price proves to be unfeasible.
23-year-old Can has been one of the key players for Liverpool since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2014 for a reported fee of €12 million. The German midfielder has already notched up more than 100 appearances for the Reds, scoring six goals along the way.
Juventus are still reeling from the loss of French midfielder Paul Pogba, and their summer signing Miralem Pjanic hasn’t been able to quite fill that hole in midfield. There are even rumours circulating that I Bianconeri are willing to offer him to Arsenal in exchange for contract rebel Alexis Sanchez.
It looks unlikely that Juve will seal a move for Sanchez. However, their pursuit of Can could be a different story altogether.
Can is no longer a crucial part of the Liverpool midfield, with the German making just 11 starts in the Premier League this season. Manager Jurgen Klopp has instead relied on a midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana as his first choice.
The German also came in for some scathing criticism after a poor performance in the Reds’ loss to Swansea City on Saturday, meaning that public sentiment isn’t exactly on his side either.
Juventus have been shelving out considerable amount of money in the recent windows, and could offer a substantial amount for the German if they feel he’s worth it. At 23 years of age, Can represents a long term option for I Bianconeri.
