Juventus ‘considering Melo-Clichy swap deal with Arsenal’
Serie A outfit Juventus have reportedly revised their transfer wish list for the upcoming season and have once again targeted Arsenal defender Gael Clichy in a bid to boost their defensive options. Italian newspaper Il Corriere dello Sport has reported that new coach Luigi Delneri and general director Giuseppe Marotta have met to discuss potential targets. After the manager made the point that the back line needed a boost, the club’s transfer focus has been set on the left-back.
With Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger likely to resist any offers made for the 25-year-old Frenchman, Juve are apparently prepared to offer defensive midfielder Felipe Melo, who is on Wenger’s list of transfer targets. However, a stumbling block could be the additional fee that the English Premier League (EPL) team would have to pay for the deal to be pushed through. Juve are looking for around ten million Euros (£8.4 million) plus Clichy before they will allow their 27-year-old Brazilian to move to north London. That would be a big jump from Arsenal’s previous offer of £3.4 million plus the left-back. Juve turned down that deal, but Arsenal appear unwilling to up their offer so much negotiation will have to take place before a deal can be struck.
Defensive problem
Juve have two left-backs currently on the roster – Fabio Grosso, who has been placed on the transfer list by the club, and Paolo De Cegile. However, the latter is considered by Delneri to be more of a midfielder than a defender. As a result, finding a top-quality left-back is a crucial matter for the new Juve coach.
As far as finding a quality left-back goes, Clichy is an excellent option for the Italian side and it is clear to see why they are so interested in securing the player’s services. After joining the set-up at AS Cannes in 2000, Clichy quickly found himself involved in the first-team set-up the following year. In two seasons with the senior side, he played 15 times but was unable to prevent the club from being relegated to the French Third Division. After this, Wenger persuaded the youngster’s parents to allow him to join Arsenal.
Cole's understudy
With first-choice left-back Ashley Cole proving nearly impossible to displace from the starting line-up, Clichy had to make do with making sporadic appearances in his first few seasons with the Gunners. During Clichy’s first three seasons with the club, he made 62 appearances as Cole’s understudy. When Cole left to join EPL rivals Chelsea, Clichy found himself becoming Arsenal’s first choice to fill the spot on the left of the defence. In the first season following the England man’s departure, Clichy played in 27 league games. In the 2007-08 season, he was named in the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Team of the Year as left-back. His reward came in the form of a long-term contract and also finished second in an Arsenal fans’ player of the season poll. His fine form saw him make his international debut for France in September 2008, in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Serbia.
Should the mooted swap deal go ahead, Arsenal will find themselves with a fine defensive midfielder in the form of Melo. As well as capturing a Brazilian league championship and Brazilian Cup win with Cruzeiro in 2003, Melo is an established part of the Brazil national team. He was part of the team which won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and was named among his country’s 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He played in four games at the tournament, including the quarter-final defeat to the Netherlands, where he provided the assist for Robinho’s opening goal.
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