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As we squabble and mumble under our breath about the soon-to-be move of Frederik Sorensen to Championship side Leeds United, Juventus are still looking to bring in a defender before the summer transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Sorry, Freddie. Apparently you're not in the club's plans — no matter what all of us have to say about the matter.
Who is in Juve's plans, though? Well, he'd have to sign first, but it's Olympiakos and Greece national team defender Kostas Manolas. More about Juventus' chance, from Gianluca Di Marzio:
Juventus are pursuing Kostas Manolas, he's their target for the defense. They are trying to reach an agreement with Olympiakos, but they haven't yet. There is confidence coming from Greece, while Juventus are more cautious. Juventus are working on a lower fee compared to the rumoured €15M and they are looking to pay the figure in two years and include a percentage of a future sale in the deal. The right price could be €11M, at the moment Olympiakos don't like the players Juventus tried to give them in exchange. But Juventus keep pushing, they want Manolas.
In the past few weeks, we've seen the Manolas talk pick up a little bit of steam. Whether that has something to do with the fact Juve director general Beppe Marotta coming out and saying the team is in the market for a "defender and a striker" is probably quite possible. Even with Sorensen around, Juventus were trying to sign a defender. And now with Sorensen only an official announcement away from completing his loan move to Leeds, Juve are probably now even more in the market for a central defender.
Manolas, who turned 23 years old back in June, has also been a reported target of Arsenal and Liverpool this summer. I guess we can look at that with some kind of measurement that he's not just getting the attention of Juventus' management. And judging by the price tag that Olympiakos reportedly want for the defender, they also know that they not only have a wanted commodity, but also one that has quite a bit of value to go along with it.
