Beppe Marotta confirms Juventus’ interest in Mattia Perin, Matteo Darmian

Beppe Marotta is never one to conduct a whole lot of interviews during the summer months. And even when he does speak to the press and the topic is the construction of the next season’s roster, it’s not like he’s declaring all that much about what his team’s plans are. That’s just how Beppe rolls.

And that’s why Beppe’s busy and informative media session on Thursday is all the more interesting.

We’ve heard the Mattia Perin rumors. We’ve heard the Matteo Darmian rumors. Both of those Italians are reportedly of interest to Juventus this summer. And in a lengthy interview, Marotta confirmed that Perin and Darmian are transfer targets for the seven-time Italian champions.

Beppe sez the following:

“We’ve talked a lot about Perin and Darmian. We can say that Buffon’s natural heir is Szczesny, we made a choice last year and we’re very happy with that choice. As I’ve always said though, being a great club like Juventus that participates in several competitions means having two top goalkeepers. So I won’t hide that we’ll go in search of a high calibre goalkeeper. Perin is a high calibre goalkeeper, but there’s a long way between where we are now, starting a negotiation, and defining the relationship.

“Darmian could fit in terms of those opportunities, players and profiles we’re looking for. He’s also an Italian player and we always think that the hardcore of a squad like Juventus should be represented by players who can also wear the Azzurri shirt. Italians have more ability and speed in terms of understanding our environment, so I can’t hide that Darmian is a player who interests us.”

(Source: Football Italia)

The Perin part isn’t all that surprising considering what we’ve heard from some of the higher-ups from Genoa in the last week or two. It’s the Darmian part, while maybe not all that surprising seeing as Juve have been interested in the past, is the new element to the equation.

And while Darmian hasn’t played up to the level that he was when he burst onto the scene across town at Torino before his move to Manchester, we all know Beppe likes a good bargain — especially when it comes with an Italian player who can provide squad depth.

So while the Italian press throws out rumors about Paul Pogba or Alvaro Morata coming back to Turin this summer, we pretty much know who Juve’s first couple of concrete transfer targets are. (I guess we could say that Emre Can is the third.)