‘Contact made’ as UCL contenders look to prize Tuchel favourite from Chelsea
Champions League giants Juventus have reportedly made contact with one of Thomas Tuchel’s favourite Chelsea stars as they aim to complete a summer swoop.
The Italian side are in the process of rebuilding under Max Allegri after their domestic dominance was ended last season. Inter, then managed by Tottenham’s Antonio Conte, won the league title on 91 points.
Juventus, in contrast, scraped into the top four, finishing just one point ahead of fifth-placed Napoli.
Their fortunes aren’t exactly improving this time around. 15 games in they sit in seventh and are 12 points behind leaders Napoli.
Reports suggest Allegri wants a squad overhaul in 2022, which could see Weston McKennie move to the Premier League. The USA international is a target for the likes of Tottenham and West Ham.
Selling players such as McKennie may allow Juventus to fund a move for Chelsea’s Jorginho. CaughtOffside, citing reports coming out of Italy, state that the they are big fans of the 29-year-old.
He has had a stellar year, which includes winning the Euros, Champions League and Super Cup. Those achievements saw Jorginho place third in the recent Ballon d’Or rankings, above Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Man Utd forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Juventus have made an approach to the player and his agent, informing them that a move is available if the Italy international wants to leave Stamford Bridge.
A transfer could fall in line with the star’s ‘dream’ scenario. Earlier this year, representative Joao Santos said of Jorginho: “He has a contract with Chelsea until 2023. Obviously it would be a dream for him to return to Italy, hopefully after winning the World Cup.
“We’ll have to see what the market looks like in a couple of years and what the other situations are.”
Jorginho became a top performer at Napoli before Chelsea came in for his signature in 2018. The Brazil-born ace has gone on to make 159 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 21 goals.
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Chelsea ‘can go really far’, says Zola
Meanwhile, former Chelsea man Gianfranco Zola reckons the west London side have a good chance of lifting the title this season.
Their most recent outing was a 2-1 victory over Watford, during which Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech got on the scoresheet.
After the game, Zola said: “We saw today they didn’t play their best but they managed to win and score two goals.
“It makes me comfortable that it looks strong everywhere. They can bring players in and they change the game. They can go really far with this team.”
READ MORE: Abramovich intervention leaves Tuchel on hold in double Chelsea transfer saga
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