Jorginho now Juventus’ primary target after Arthur Melo rejection — reports

While Juventus’ primary midfield target at this point appears to be Arthur Melo of Barcelona, his strong desire to continue at his current club is proving quite a hassle for both the Blaugrana and the Old Lady. Barcelona were hoping to acquire Miralem Pjanić from Juventus in return, but in the absence of a swap deal, cost constraints would make that difficult.

Juventus have looked at other options as well like PSG’s Leandro Paredes, but it’s fair to assume that the Bianconeri’s first choice would be Maurizio Sarri-favorite Jorginho. That’s what Corriere Torino (via juvefc.com) are reporting as well, with the Turin-based outlet claiming that Juventus have no interest in the other players that Barcelona are offering, like Ousmane Dembélé, Ivan Rakitić, or Arturo Vidal.

The report also states that two other unnamed clubs are also interested in Jorginho’s services — even though no non-Sarri team has ever been linked — so acquiring him won’t be an easy task. While his asking price is reported be a surprisingly low €40m (£35m) even though Chelsea paid €65m (£57m), it remains to be seen whether Juventus have any intention to cough up any amount, with Chelsea reportedly having no interest in a swap deal involving Pjanić.

Jorginho’s agent did claim that he has had no contact with Juventus regarding a move, but the Oracle of Sarri, Alfredo Pedullà reports that those words are just standard agent talk. He claims that there have been at least exploratory contacts between the two parties, and Jorginho himself is apparently willing to reunite with his former coach as well.

We may have some “hot days” upon us soon!