Juventus have entered the race for Gustavo Varela, and as so often in recent years they are treading on the toes of Napoli and sporting director Manna in the transfer market. The Portuguese forward has just earned a senior international call-up and is on the shortlist of Giovanni Carnevali, Massara and Ottolini.
A Crowded Field Around the Monza Revelation
Varela is the revelation of Monza’s season, and plenty have already come calling, from Arsenal and Tottenham to Barcelona. Napoli are very much in the picture too. Manna’s club have an excellent relationship with Monza and with the player’s agents.
Even so, Tuttosport says that when Juventus call, it is right to listen. The idea for Varela’s future is to choose the best sporting project.
A Summer Deal, Not a January One
A January move is hard to imagine. Juric’s side need Varela to stay up, and Monza plan to cash in during the summer. If he keeps making the impact he has so far in Serie A, the Brianza club’s asking price could settle between €30m and €35m.
That means a major investment, but also a degree of project guarantee, which is what matters to the player and his entourage. It is the same entourage as that of Adin Licina, the German-born playmaker who is on a straight loan at Cremonese this season. Juventus have high hopes for him too, with the aim of a long-term path in black and white.
The coming months will be decisive. Juventus have already placed themselves among the first on the starting grid for Varela, with some movement reported and several clubs having shown interest. The situation is still at an early stage, as is normal with other top clubs in Italy and abroad. Monza know it is evolving and that interest in the forward will become more concrete. His characteristics are considered a good fit for the game Luciano Spalletti has in mind.
Varela himself is calm. He has realised his dream of reaching the Portugal national team, and for now his mind is only on Monza. He wants to help them reach safety and to give everything while he is their player.
Carnevali’s Push for a More Italian Squad
Carnevali’s idea, as he also said at the shareholders’ meeting, is to grow the Italy contingent and make the Juventus squad more Italian. The hottest attacking names in that vein are Gianluca Scamacca of Atalanta and Antonio Raimondo of Frosinone, who is owned by Bologna. Both deals would be hard to complete in the winter window.
To give Spalletti the centre-forward reinforcement he needs, the situation points to a contest between two foreign strikers who can make an immediate impact:
- Folarin Balogun: the American, who also holds a British passport, has long been at odds with Monaco and is set to leave in January.
- Alexander Sørloth: the Norwegian Atlético Madrid striker was already pursued in the summer and is perhaps Spalletti’s preference. The two spoke before the World Cup in June, but it came to nothing. January, as the piece puts it, is a different story.
