Amid Miralem Pjanic rumors, André Gomes reportedly remains Juventus' No. 1 summer target

As the days go on and we start to enter the time of the year where transfer rumors consume our minds, the gut feeling that Juventus are going to sign a quality central midfielder. That gut feeling isn't because I haven't had dinner yet or anything. Rather, the need to upgrade the quality of options at Max Allegri's disposal is obvious.

(And yes, this was before the news — or non-news depending on how you look at it — about Claudio Marchisio's road to recovery on Sunday.)

There have been rumors flying about Juventus possibly pursuing Roma maestro Miralem Pjanic. There have also been rumors about Juventus trying to close the deal for Valencia's André Gomes. Well, Sky Sport's Gianluca Di Marzio has an update about Juventus' interest and the potential of signing either one of the two talented midfielders. It reads as follows:

Possible Pjanic meeting? Juventus have obvious interest in the player but there aren't any imminent negotiations between the clubs and Roma's asking price is very high. At the moment, Juve's priority is Andrè Gomes of Valencia. Negotiations are ongoing and Juventus hope to close a deal as soon as possible for the Valencia star.

So, by the wording above, this seems to be the midfield transfer target power rankings, according to Di Marzio:

1. André Gomes.
2. Maybe Miralem Pjanic, maybe somebody else.
3. Maybe somebody else, or maybe Miralem Pjanic.

I don't doubt that Juve have some kind of interest in trying to sign Pjanic. How much they are truly interested in negotiating with Roma is still an unknown at this point. Beppe Marotta has said no talks have actually been initiated, and it's not like a lot of what Beppe has said lately has been the opposite of the truth. Gomes has, at least in the press' mind, always been Juventus' No. 1 choice from the start of when rumors picked up steam.

Maybe Juve feel like going for Pjanic, his €38 million buy-out clause and his wealth of Serie A/European experience is the better option. Or maybe they think that they can get Gomes without turning things into an absolutely crazy negotiation period with Valencia that sees crazy amounts of money going to Spain.

I don't know, really. But this ain't the last time we've heard about either of these talented midfielders, that's for sure.