Juventus eyeing sensational swoop for Ex-AC Milan midfielder

Serie A giants Juventus are eyeing a sensational January deal for Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali with Nicolo Fagioli currently on the chopping block, according to Corriere dello Sport.

Tonali moved to Newcastle from AC Milan two summers ago in a high-profile €70 million deal, but his stint in England has been overshadowed by a 10-month suspension handed down in October 2023 for alleged breaches of betting regulations.

The 24-year-old has since returned to action on the expiration of his ban in August 2024, although his status as an undisputed starter for the Magpies is under jeopardy, having come off the bench in seven of his 14 Premier League appearances.

While Newcastle have indicated no willingness to sanction Tonali’s exit just yet, Juventus are believed to be interested in bringing the midfielder to the Allianz Stadium when the transfer window reopens early next year.

A transfer fee of around €55m has been quoted for Tonali, and Juventus are reportedly willing to part ways with Kenan Yildiz to raise some money given his market value and the fact he arrived as a free agent from Bayern Munich.

Juventus are also keen to bring in defensive reinforcement following injuries to Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal, which largely contributed to Thiago Motta fielding Manuel Locatelli alongside Pierre Kalulu as the centre-back pairing in Tuesday’s 4-0 Coppa Italia win over Cagliari.

Despite being the only Serie A team without a league defeat this term, I Bianconeri are sixth in the standings, a whopping nine points adrift of current leaders Atalanta as the season nears its midway point.

They could really do with bolstering their squad for the second half of the campaign, and the addition of Tonali could prove to be a turning point after his heroics with AC Milan in the 2021-22 title-winning season.