Juventus in contact with Lucca and scouting Mateta – report
Reports in Italy claim that Juventus have been in contact with the agent of Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca, and that the club have sent scouts to watch Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in action.
Providing Luciano Spalletti with a new attacker is the top priority for Juventus during the January transfer window. Dusan Vlahovic remains unavailable with a long-term injury, and Jonathan David and Lois Openda have not fully convinced when deployed as the no.9.
The Bianconeri have been linked with a sensational return for Federico Chiesa, just 18 months after he was pushed out of the club, but recent reports claim that they are also on the hunt for a more physically-imposing centre-forward as well.
Where Juventus stand with Lucca and Mateta
According to reports from SportItalia and Calciomercato.com, Juventus have been ‘proposed’ the opportunity to sign Lucca via his agent Beppe Riso.
Lucca is already out of favour at Napoli, and that situation is unlikely to improve once Romelu Lukaku returns to full fitness.
Lucca was originally brought in as an understudy to Lukaku, but following a long-term injury to the Belgium international over the summer, the Partenopei moved quickly to bring in Rasmus Hojlund as well, which has made for limited opportunities for the former Udinese forward.
That means that he could already be available for a move away from Napoli just a few months after arriving on loan with an obligation to buy for a total cost of around €35m.
For now, the situation has been described as a ‘possibility’ for Juventus, rather than a concrete option as things stand.
Meanwhile, reports from Tuttosport claim that Juventus have recently sent scouts to watch Mateta in action for Crystal Palace.
Juventus were also interested in the Frenchman over the summer transfer window, but were put off by his reported €40m price tag.
Calciomercato claims, however, that Mateta’s price tag could feasibly drop to somewhere around €20m-€25m in the future given that his contract is due for expiry in the summer of 2027, and as things stand, he is not particularly interested in renewing with Crystal Palace.