.png){kind=small}
After Miretti's broken foot, muscle injury for Adzic, another candidate for the role. The trequartista curse must be broken with the Dutch jewel
Once upon a time, at Milan, there was the curse of the number 9: abandoned by Pippo Inzaghi in 2012 and worn by ten players in the following nine years, none capable of scoring 10 goals in the league. Then broken by Olivier Giroud. On Juventus , instead, a sort of curse of the attacking midfielder seems to have fallen . Moreover, announced by dark omens in the recent past: Paul Pogba two years ago had arrived to play as a mezzala (even if a role as an attacking midfielder was a possibility), but still to bring quality, assists, goals. You all know how it went.
Miretti and Adzic ko, Koopmeiners gets complicated
Quality, assists and goals that Juventus intends to ask for this year, speaking of midfielders, from Douglas Luiz but above all from Teun Koopmeiners . While waiting for a turning point in the operation that should bring the Dutchman to Turin, the player designated to cover that role in the 4-2-3-1 designed by Thiago Motta was Fabio Miretti. And here is the first hitch: on July 29, the twenty-one-year-old who grew up in the Juventus youth team fractured the third cuneiform of his right foot. He was out for at least a month. A stop that could have promoted eighteen-year-old Vasilije Adzic, one of the brightest notes of the first weeks of training, if it weren't for the fact that yesterday he was diagnosed with a low-grade lesion to his rectus femoris. He will be reevaluated in 10 days, but at least three weeks of stoppage is standard practice. Things had gone much worse, however, a few days earlier for Gianluca Scamacca, who tore a cruciate ligament, collateral ligament and meniscus in his right knee on Monday . An injury that further complicates, hence the suspicion of a curse, the negotiations for Koopmeiners .
Juve-Koopmeiners: the point
Cristiano Giuntoli is convinced that he can break the spell and give Thiago Motta the Dutch midfielder (who is very happy to move to Juventus, with an agreement already reached), but the injury of the Atalanta centre forward complicates a negotiation that was born on difficult assumptions , namely a valuation of 45 million by Juve and 60 by Atalanta. The distance is not insignificant but not unbridgeable either, except that the Goddess has never shown signs of being willing to take steps towards a meeting point. And it is even more reluctant now, having lost one of its most important men in the offensive phase for six months (plus the time needed to regain optimal form), in a period in which it is now difficult to replace him: on the one hand, it does not want to lose another top player, on the other, if it really has to sell Koopmeiners, it is even less inclined to make discounts, given that it will have to face an unexpected expense to replace Scamacca. And they are not interested in doing so with Milik, who Juventus would be happy to include in the Koopmeiners operation. Despite these complications, however, the Bianconeri are convinced that they can present an effective offer without exceeding 50 million by too much.
Alternatives to Koopmeiners
Such a strong belief that Juventus has not prepared a real plan B for the Dutchman, but not so absolute that it has not made them think of possible alternatives. One, which we have already told you about in recent weeks, is Matt O'Riley , who Atalanta are following as a possible replacement for Koopmeiners: 23 years old, Danish international, Celtic Glasgow values him at 25 million. Keep an eye on Brighton, though. The other hypothesis was born from the shadow of Inter that is looming over Federico Chiesa, out of the project and eleven months from the expiry of his contract. From Turin they would sell him to the Nerazzurri immediately, also adding a balancing payment to get to Davide Frattesi , not an attacking midfielder but a raider capable of providing goals and assists. However, this hypothesis is complicated by the different status of the two: Chiesa is a problem for Juve, a player out of the project who between amortization (14 million) and gross salary (around 10) costs Juve around 24 million. Frattesi is a resource for Inter, not a starter but the first alternative to the starters and, at 24, the designated heir to 35-year-old Mkhitaryan. In short, they would ask much more from Milan than a settlement... preferring instead to present a last minute offer for Chiesa, or wait for him. In Turin, however, they are waiting for Koopmeiners. Confident.
Comments