The Italian press continues to link Juventus with a move for İlkay Gündoğan

You're not wrong in thinking İlkay Gundogan would be one hell of a signing by the Juventus front office if it were to actually happen. The thing is, to be completely honest with all of you, the actual odds of it happening over the next month aren't exactly that good. That's not breaking news. The odds of Juventus making any kind of big-time move this month aren't very good because it's just not what they do.

Yet, here's what was out there as the day got going on Saturday when it came to Gundogan rumors:

• Tuttosport says Juventus want to sign Gundogan.
• The Gazzetta dello Sport says Juventus want to sign Gundogan.
• Sportmediaset says Juventus want to sign Gundogan.
• Calciomercato says Juventus want to sign Gundogan.

There seems to be a whole lot of common notions in those links above. (Translation: GUNDOGAN! GUNDOGAN! GUNDOGAN!) And while they might not exactly be the most reputable Italian media outlets when it comes to transfer rumors, they bring up a rather obvious question: Is it officially okay to say that Gundogan is the name that the Italian press will continue to link with a move to Juventus over the next month no matter what actually happens?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is.

The rumored price for Gundogan now stands at €30 million — and probably rising — if you didn't feel like clicking what's above. When was the last time Juve spent €30 million in a winter transfer window? Well, certainly not under Beppe Marotta's watch, that's for sure. The only one that could be considered a "big" move that comes to mind was when Juve signed Alessandro Matri, but even then the vast majority of the money that would be spent on bringing the striker to Turin wasn't going to be paid for another six months when €15.5 million of the total €18 million would be sent to Cagliari.

Gundogan may well be available when the summer transfer window opens up. None of us know that for sure at this point. There's no doubting that he would be a player who would add that extra bit of class to the midfield and, at 25 years old, fits both a long-term plan as well as help in the immediate future. But, there's that minor detail of him actually wanting to sign with Juve — be in January or June/July.

So even if logic says Juventus signing Gundogan would be a great fit for a club who probably needs another midfielder, logic from the other corner says something big like this just won't happen. Maybe we should tell that to the Italian press. Seeing as it's January and they know exactly what is on everybody's mind, I'm pretty sure that they won't have any of it.