Juventus back in the hunt for a midfielder

Juventus are considering making a return to the transfer market and are ready to deal for Ever Banega and Christian Ledesma, according to Sportmediaset.

The Bianconeri have been hit with a number of injuries during pre-season. The latest blow came when Cristiano Zanetti and Marco Marchionni were both ruled out for a month on Monday.

The Old Lady is now desperate for cover and is looking to make a return to the transfer market as a result.

Jose Mourinho has emphatically closed the door on a possible move for Inter’s Dejan Stankovic, who was in Claudio Ranieri’s sights.

Sportmediaset claims that Juve chief executive Jean Claude Blanc and transfer guru Alessio Secco are following Valencia’s Ever Banega and Lazio’s Cristian Ledesma.

However according to a report on Channel 4.com, Juventus is considering a move for Serbian midfielder Nenad Kovacevic and Tuttosport insists that the Turin giants will turn their attentions back to Roma ace Alberto Aquilani.

What is sure is that the purchase of a midfielder seems inevitable. But all four of these targets appear quite capable of providing the cover Ranieri desires.

Banega hasn’t featured much since signing for Valencia last year and an exit from the Mestalla seems on the cards. Juve were previously front-runners to sign the 20 year old Argentine international before losing out to the Liga giants.

Ledesma is the more realistic target, as he is on the verge of leaving the Biancocelesti. The 25 year old midfielder is looking for a quick exit after falling out with the club over a pay rise issue. The Argentine has plenty of skill and pace and he would fit in well in Claudio Ranieri’s side.

Aquilani seems to be the most unrealistic of these targets as Roma boss Luciano Spalleti insists that the 24 year old Italian international is not for sale.

Lastly, Lens midfielder Kovacevic has 25 international caps to his name and is a reliable midfielder with leadership qualities. The 27 year old would be able to provide the kind of cover that Ranieri needs and would be relatively cheap. Sources suggest that the asking price is in the region of £5 million and his wages of £500,000 per year would be easily affordable. German side Hamburg is also known to be following Kovacevic closely and could compete for his signature.

[Source: Channel4 Football Italia]