Juventus are stepping up their pursuit of André Gomes by offering €30m for the Portuguese midfielder.
According to the usually reliable Gianluca Di Marzio, the Bianconeri will meet with the players agent, Jorge Mendes, who will be in Italy this week to speak with Juventus and Napoli about his client.
The report mentions an unusually high transfer fee of €30m with bonuses set at €20m, although these are suggested to be difficult to achieve and largely in place because Valencia rate the player very highly.
Juve are thought to be keen to make 22-year-old Gomes their first signing of the summer and pushing to complete the deal quickly.
Would be an excellent signing.
Its a lot of money, especially if those add-ons end up piling up, yet I assume our earnings will cover the extra gold in spades as they are likely linked to domestic titles and european progress. We need to replace Marchisio who did very well indeed last season when moving into the regista role. This campaign, however, whilst he has been average and reliable when fit, we have seen the creativity of Pirlo, Vidal and Tevez basically replaced by Dybala foraging deep and wide. It has not come from Marchisio anywhere near as regularly.
Claudio’s natural game is more box to box or even attacking midfielder. He is more of a threat in the final third than he is a titan screening the rearguard. Which isn’t to say he cannot be valuable there. Last season is testament to that, but he had less responsibility as the creativity came from other players around him.
This lad Gomes appears to have outstanding technical ability on the ball, his passing is world class and often beautifully inventive and unerringly precise. He seems to have good pace, is not afraid to tackle and could well prove a viable regista (as I feel we will begin with the 3-5-2) and when Marchisio returns, he could play behind the front men as a trequartista.
La Liga is exceptionally different to Serie A from a tactical perspective. Players are afforded less time on the ball, the marking is tighter and the officials are far more lenient when it comes to niggling and even quite brutal challenges. He would not be offered the same protection as in Spain. Still…he is young, clearly ultra talented and seems a signing of intent and intelligence. His resale value is likely to offset the risk. And the thought of a beautifully creative presence between Pogba and Khedira is very exciting indeed. He can also dribble…which is immensely valuable a skill when needing to break down tough opponents. The prized ability to take a man on, over and over again, is a nightmare for defenders, especially given his passing prowess. Could be a true gem in the mega rough…
My only concerns at present are that whilst we seem to be moving fast, other teams have been alerted to his potential availability, many of whom can offer far more gold. His agent Jorge Mendes is well connected with Mourinho and has a reputation for huge deals. Still, we will make an offer, the project sells itself and I believe we stand a firm chance of signing the youngster. Who wouldn’t want to play with Pogba and Dybala? Not to mention the legends of Chiellini and Buffon! Wise to try snap him up before the EUROS…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Pqalb5-6w
I would not worry about the Mourinho thing GP. If he becomes ManUtd manager so incompetent is Woodwood at getting transfer targets that he is more likely to end up at Newcastle Utd.
i think we’ll see one or a few of Asamoa/Pereyra/Hernanes leaving this summer. No way we sign new young players and keep this lot on the wage list.