Chelsea’s Jorginho has been identified as ‘Plan B’ option for Juventus, according to Calciomercato.
Sassuolo’s Manuel Locatelli is on ‘top of the list’ for the Turin club and he’s also wanted by Manchester City.
Locatelli is ready for a ‘new opportunity’ at a big club and his employer values him between €35m and €40m, meaning Andrea Pirlo’s side are working to find a formula that can make everyone involved in the operation happy.
Juve, however, will face competition from Manchester City side and in the event they fail to sign the Italian, the Old Lady have identified Jorginho as an ‘alternative option’.
The Blues midfielder was heavily linked with a move to the Turin club when Maurizio Sarri was at Juventus, and the Brazil-born Italy international can still be a topic of discussion for the Serie A winners if Chelsea give ‘signs of opening in view of a sale’.
Thomas Tuchel replacing Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge has not had any impact on the 29-year-old’s place in the starting lineup as he continues to be a regular for the west London club.
With a contract expiring in 2023, Jorginho’s agent has ‘never closed the door’ on the possibility of the former Napoli star returning to Italy.
Last month, the Chelsea player’s representative stated his client can return to the Serie A if certain conditions are met.
“He still has two years on his contract with Chelsea. He is a starter with the Italian national team, [and] with a good project he would return to play in Italy,” João Santos told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli.
Juventus ‘remain in a waiting position’ for Jorginho and an approach for him would only be considered if a move for Locatelli doesn’t materialise.
Should an opportunity to sign Jorginho arise for Juve, then Tuchel and Chelsea will have a decision to make.
