Report: West Ham leading the race for Juventus benchwarmer
01/06/2025 01:00 PM
Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli remains the most likely candidate to be sold this month, while West Ham are reportedly best-positioned to win his favour.
The 23-year-old is a Bianconeri youth product who represented the club throughout all age groups before earning his place in the first time back in 2022 following an impressive loan stint at Cremonense.
Despite getting slapped with an eight-month ban due to illegal betting and missing the bulk of the action last season, Fagioli's position at Juventus was never put into question. In fact, the management offered him a new contract to consolidate the bond between the two parties.
Nevertheless, the situation has drastically changed with Thiago Motta in charge. After the first few months of the season, the midfielder failed to convince the Italian Brazilian manager who relegated him to the bench in recent weeks.
The Italy international now finds himself at the very bottom of the pecking order, behind Teun Koopmeiners, Manuel Locatelli, Khephren Thuram, Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz.
Therefore, with Juventus needing to bolster their attacking and defensive ranks in January, the hierarchy could decide that Fagioli is the best available sacrificial lamb, explains Tuttosport (via IlBianconero).
The Turin-based newspaper reveals that West Ham remain ahead in the race as they're willing to splash the cash to secure a permanent transfer this month.
On the other hand, Olympique Marseille, who remain in the hunt, would prefer to sign the Italian on an initial loan deal, whereas Juventus prefer to offload the player immediately to raise funds for their incoming market acquisitions.
The source reveals that Fagioli is currently valued somewhere between 20 and 25 million euros. Hence, it remains to be seen if Julen Lopetegui's side will accelerate their attempts in the coming days and lure the Italian midfielder to East London.
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