Calciomercato.com

Exclusive: Juventus want Manchester United target if the price is right

Exclusive: Juventus want Manchester United target if the price is right

Still fighting on three fronts for silverware this season, Juventus are already busy planning for squad reinforcements in the summer. A name that is on the front page of the notebook in Turin is Lazio striker Keita Balde.
 
The Bianconeri have always been impressed by the 22-year-old Senegalese international who has a contract in the Italian capital until 2018. Lazio patron Claudio Lotitio wants the player to commit his future to the club but as Calciomercato.com’s Fabrizio Romano reports, Keita seems likely to look elsewhere at the end of the season.
 
Premier League giants Manchester United are also known admirers and Lotito looks to have raised the bar by asking for a fee of around €30-35 million, something that Juventus feel is far too high for a player who has yet to prove his consistency at the highest level.
 
So, this presents a problem to Lotito; does he lower the asking price and therefore off-load Keita in the summer, or does he risk losing the player on a free-transfer in 2018? Juve’s transfer supremo’s Marotta and Paratici have made it quite clear; drop the asking price and we may be able to do business.