LONDON. — Italian Serie A football champions Juventus expect to finalise the arrival of Maurizio Sarri as their new manager in the next 24 hours — and one of his first signings could be Tottenham star Kieran Trippier.

Sarri flew to Italy on Saturday, just hours after winning the Europa League with Chelsea, and after discussions with director Marina Granovskaia at which he made clear he wanted to leave the club.

The 60-year-old is due to have talks with Juve sporting director Fabio Patrici today, and the Italian giants are confident of tying up a deal, having already offered the Chelsea manager £6.2 million a year contract for three seasons.

But the Italians are also intent on beating Napoli to the punch for the £35m signature of Tottenham’s England full-back Trippier.

Napoli had been in pole position for the 28-year-old, who played in Spurs’ Champions League final defeat by Liverpool in Madrid on Saturday night, but have now cooled on the deal due to worries about Trippier’s age. Juventus however are still keen, as are Spanish side Valencia.

Juventus were still interested in Tripper’s current Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino as a possible alternative to Sarri as the successor to Massimo Allegri, who left the club at the end of the season.

Pochettino though is expected to be too expensive to pry away from Tottenham though, and Juventus have already been given the signal that Chelsea will not stand in Sarri’s way if a deal can be negotiated. — The Daily Express.

You Might Also Like

Comments