Arsenal and Manchester United are reportedly among the clubs interested in securing the services of Domenico Berardi this summer.
According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Arsenal and Manchester United have emerged as potential suitors for Domenico Berardi, who is tipped to leave Sassuolo in the summer. The player is currently valued at around €50 million, with the Serie A outfit ready to use his sale as a financial injection for the club following a difficult economic year.
Italian giants Juventus and Inter Milan were mainly the clubs interested in the services of Berardi. However, their respective financial conditions have forced them to embrace a more conservative approach in the market, thus leaving Arsenal and Manchester United among the top contenders, with Tottenham Hotspur also keen on the attacker’s services.
Berardi has been in the Sassuolo first-team scene for many years now, having initially made his breakthrough 2012/13 campaign. He has since notched up almost 300 competitive appearances for the club, scoring 86 goals while chipping in with 56 assists.
The 26-year-old particularly thrived under the leadership of Roberto De Zerbi, who is no longer at the club. The Italian attacker has notably been involved in as many as 49 league goals over the last couple of seasons in Serie A, often emerging as Sassuolo’s weapon-in-chief going forward.
Berardi’s performances have not gone unnoticed either, with the winger becoming a first-choice attacker in Roberto Mancini’s Italy side participating in the Euro 2020. And the recent interest from Arsenal and Manchester United signifies the improvement he has made over the past couple of years.
For Arsenal, it appears he has been identified as a potential alternative for Martin Odegaard, whose €60 million price tag keeps the Gunners on the fence over a possible move. Although Berardi is a winger by trade, he could fit in nicely at the Emirates, with the Italian international and Bukayo Saka operating as wide players while Emile Smith Rowe can be deployed as an attacking midfielder.
Manchester United’s interest in Berardi is a bit more interesting. The Red Devils have been strongly linked with a move to sign Jadon Sancho in the summer and are confident of sealing his services as well.
The Sassuolo forward, therefore, is perhaps just an alternative, should the club miss out on their pursuit of Sancho, whose exorbitant price-tag is indeed causing quite a headache in the Manchester United camp. Having said that, it will be interesting to see if either of Arsenal and Manchester United meet his €50 million valuation or if the Italian international remains at Sassuolo.