Reports: Juventus renew interest in Chelsea midfielder; Abramovich ready to sell?

Ever since Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri revealed his admiration for Chelsea midfielder Oscar last year, the rumours linking the Brazilian to a move to Italy's biggest club have not stopped. And they show no sign of stopping now as Italian news outlet Tuttosport reports that Juventus are still interested in acquiring Oscar in the summer. Tuttosport are hardly the most reliable outlet in the boot of Europe, but this is also hardly a new story.

According to the report, Allegri and Juventus are still looking for a playmaker and Oscar remains their optimal choice. It also claims that (possibly) future Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has no intention of retaining Oscar at the club, as he is looking to build a "more muscular" side.  With Juan Cuadrado possibly returning to Chelsea from his loan at Juventus, Oscar's transfer could be easier to deal with. Tuttosport says that Juve would offer €30 million for Oscar - a far-cry from the €75 million bid submitted by Chinese club Jiangsu Suning in the winter transfer window, but most likely closer to the player's real value in the market at the moment and probably closer to a move that Oscar would actually agree to.

To add further fuel to this possibility, a Brazilian journalist named Bruno Andrade seems convinced that Abramovich is ready to sell (or trade) Oscar, seeing him "as currency" in any potential deal to upgrade the squad.  We've heard all of this before of course, but where there's this much smoke, sometimes we do end up finding a fire.

"Oscar" and "potential" have always come along ever since his arrival at Chelsea four years ago. At first, there were clear hints that Oscar's ceiling was quite high and that it wouldn't take too long for him to reach his plateau. But he always stumbled on his inconsistency, and he hasn't shown that this side of his play will improve in the future.  Maybe a change of winds would be a good thing for Oscar at this point of his career. Struggling to make a difference in the Premier League and in his national team, taking a step down to the Italian Serie A could be just what he needs to be more than a "stellar prospect".