Juventus are seemingly turning to Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni amid a belief that Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori is unattainable, according to a report.
Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport report that Serie A side Juventus are looking to snap up more Italian talent in future transfer windows, and they’re targeting a number of players currently contract to Premier League clubs.
Juventus’ shortlist includes Guglielmo Vicario (already on loan at Juventus from Tottenham Hotspur), Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni, and Brentford’s Michael Kayode.
Yet despite holding an interest in Riccardo Calafiori, they won’t be pursuing a move for the Arsenal defender.
According to the report, Calafiori is now considered out of reach due to his status at Arsenal and the likely price tag.
By contrast, Juventus continue to look into Leoni’s situation, evidently believing they can eventually convince Liverpool to sell despite the club’s reluctance to negotiate up to now.
Juventus plan to have scouts watching Leoni on a weekly basis, when he eventually returns from his ACL injury.
Juventus aren’t the first big club to show an interest in Calafiori, only to give up and turn to other targets. The same thing happened with Real Madrid over the summer, as they ultimately pivoted to Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella.
Reports at the time suggested Arsenal wanted £86m for Calafiori, and if that was too much for Real Madrid, it was always likely to be too much for Juventus.
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