Corriere dello Sport on Monday don’t beat around the bush, claiming that five Premier League clubs have all asked about Stefano Sturaro over the past month, and they name them: West Ham, Newcastle, Leicester, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Juventus’ stance for the 25-year-old midfielder has been rather consistent, and that’s that they won’t really negotiate for anything less than €20m, but it’s been thought for some time that a transfer is likely.
For West Ham, the midfielder could be an option should they decide to let Pedro Obiang return to Sampdoria after recent reports the Spaniard is tempted to head back to his former club.
Wolves have been focusing on strengthening their midfield all summer, with recurring links to Joao Mario (thanks to Jorge Mendes) appearing in the Italian press, but it seems Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have found their man in Monaco’s Joao Moutinho, who is said to be heading to Molineux in a £5m deal.
Crystal Palace and Roy Hodgson are yet to fill the gap left by Yohan Cabaye’s departure, and Sturaro would fit that role quite nicely.
The Eagles are in need of reinforcements this summer, having only brought in Vicenete Guaita from Getafe on a free so far, and a new midfielder to help James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic would go a long way at Selhurst Park.
As for Newcastle, the Magpies are in the same boat following Mikel Merino’s exit to Real Socided for just under £11m, but Mike Ashley’s apparent reluctance to back Rafa Benitez in the transfer window appears to be a problem this summer.
Finally, Leicester City are probably the least needy out of the five clubs, boasting a relatively strong midfield, who could be further helped by the return of Nampalys Mendy from his loan at OGC Nice.
The 26-year-old was a key member during Claude Puel’s successful spell in the south of France, and a reunion with his former manager could be exactly what the doctor ordered to help the defensive midfielder rekindle his Foxes career.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but Corriere dello Sport state this week ‘will be key’ for the midfielder’s future, so we could expect some movement from one (or more) of the five clubs mentioned above.
Our money’s on either Newcastle or Crystal Palace (and maybe West Ham if Obiang leaves), but we’ll have to wait and see.
