Juventus made it clear this week that they needed to sell a few more players before the end of the transfer window and it looks like they could be able to move 3 of them soon.
As the current roster stands, Juventus would have to leave 6 players out of their Champions League squad, but they could get some help clearing out their crowded bench before the season starts. Daniele Rugani, Blaise Matuidi, and Mario Mandzukic are all players who look like prime candidates to be left off of the CL squad if they stay at Juve, but are drawing interest from teams around Europe who could offer them more regular playing time.
Daniele Rugani is currently being courted by 2 teams who had disappointing seasons last year.
More from Serie A
- Update on Leonardo Bonucci’s legal action against Juventus
- Romelu Lukaku and the betrayal of Inter Milan
- Report: Piotr Zieliński set to sign a new deal with SSC Napoli
- The man rumored to replace Kim Min-Jae: Who is Napoli target Robin Le Normand?
- Are Napoli finally Scudetto-bound? It sure looks like it
Both AS Monaco and Roma are currently trying to secure Rugani’s signature with Monaco offering to buy him outright while according to Gazzetta della Sport and Roma looking to take him on a loan for a year before an obligation to buy kicks in for next season.
A change of scenery could be exactly what Rugani needs after struggling to make a difference at Juventus over the last few years. Now that Juventus has added Matthijs de Ligt and Merih Demiral at center back this summer, it looks like Rugani’s only hope of ever being a starter is to move on from Juventus.
Along with their pursuit of Rugani, Monaco is also trying to acquire Blaise Matuidi according to that same Gazzetta report. Matuidi is also in danger of being stuck on the bench this season thanks to offseason acquisitions, with the introductions of Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot suddenly making Juve’s midfield very crowded.
With the sudden revelation that for some reason Juventus wants to keep Sami Khedira on the squad for another year, it would seem that a return to France would be beneficial to Matuidi. Monaco could use his veteran leadership after enduring a disastrous season that nearly saw them relegated to Ligue 2. He would also help stabilize a defense that was among the worst in Ligue 1.
The third player continuing to draw interest this week is Mario Mandzukic, who was on pace to have easily his best season yet with Juventus last year until he went scoreless in the second half of the season. He had long been rumored to be destined for Manchester Untied, but once the Premier League transfer window closed, Juventus needed to find a new destination for him.
Now it appears that he has also drawn interest from Monaco, as well as Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich who both want to bring him back to Germany. Mandzukic has a reputation for performing on the big stage, which would be a major boost to a Dortmund team that is pretty thin up front and has struggled in big matches in recent years.
A return to Bayern would bring him back to the club who he helped win the Champions League in 2013. A move to Bayern wouldn’t solve his playing time problem, but either of the other two teams would be able to offer him regular minutes.