Suarez or Cavani, no to Van Parsie really? Juve are one striker away for C.L? Melo to Galatasaray agreed..Supercoppa Italiana to be played in China on August 11.
The date, time and venue of the match between Juventus and Napoli has now been finalised, with the Asian nation once again playing host to the new season’s curtain-raiser. The Lega Calcio has announced that the Supercoppa Italiana will be played on August 11 in China. The first trophy of the Italian season will be contested between Serie A champions Juventus and Coppa Italia holders Napoli at the Beijing National Stadium – also known as the ‘Bird’s Nest’ – at 13:00BST.
The previous campaign’s clash between Inter and AC Milan – which ended 2-1 to the Rossoneri – was also held in the Chinese capital, while in 2009-10, Jose Mourinho’s former side were beaten by Lazio. In May, Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis threatened to boycott the match if the Bianconeri were successful in their attempt to move the curtain-raiser to Turin or any other Italian city. Should the match remain tied after 90 minutes, extra time and a penalty shoot-out will follow, if necessary. Juventus have won four editions of the Supercoppa, while Napoli’s only success in the competition dates back to 1990, when they thrashed the Old Lady 5-1 at the San Paolo.
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Juve should sign Suarez, not Cavani. Former Juventus striker Daniel Fonseca has urged the Serie A champions to sign Liverpool striker Luis Suarez this summer.
Edinson Cavani has been a long-term target for Massimiliano Allegri’s side, but Goal.com exclusively revealed last Thursday that Juventus could pull out of a deal for the Napoli forward after growing frustrated with the potential length of negotiations.
But Fonseca believes his former side should scrap plans to land Cavani this summer and instead opt for his Uruguay strike partner from Liverpool. “Suarez is more powerful and deadly; Cavani more agile. Recently, both have been proving themselves as lethal finishers in the area. Juventus would be making a good choice by signing one or the other,” Fonseca told Tuttosport. “Suarez and Cavani would fit easily into the Juve system: they are mobile forwards with great goal scoring instincts. There isn’t a €20million gap between them in terms of their value and, of the two, I’d prefer to see Suarez go to Juventus. “Signing either player would be difficult, but Juve should make a great effort to sign one of them. Uruguayans are, except in very rare cases, always a success in Italy and the pressure of playing for a big team is not a burden for us.” Suarez joined Liverpool in January 2010 for £22million, and is contracted to the club until the summer of 2016.
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ARSENAL FACE JUVENTUS COMPETITION FOR JOVETIC AS ITALIANS PREPARE TO ABANDON VAN PERSIE. Jovetic is a top target for Arsene Wenger
ARSENAL are set to face stiff competition from Juventus for Fiorentina striker Jovetic after the Italian club wavered on their bid for Robin Van Persie.
The Italian club are currently in the throes of deciding whether to drop their bid for Robin Van Persie after they claimed there was to much hesitation from Arsenal on a decision, according to Italian reports.
The club are fearful that they will chase ‘phantom players’ and ultimately be left empty-handed when it comes to forward players for the season. Juventus had put in a £25million bid for Robin Van Persie but the club faces stiff competition from much-richer clubs Manchester City and Barcelona. The Italian club are now looking at home to strengthen their attacking force and Fiorentina’s Jovetic is a top target despite interest from both Arsenal and Tottenham. There are fears that Jovetic would prefer to stay in Italy and a move to Juventus would allow this but manager Fali Ramadani, has said a decision is yet to be made on his future.
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With Asamoah, Isla, Lucio & Giovinco on board, Juventus are a world-class striker away from Champions League contention.
The Bianconeri have bought well so far this summer, and with one more vital addition they could now be potential winners in Europe. It was in February and March that Juventus suffered their first really testing time on the injury front in 2011-12. With Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli ruled out with short-term problems, La Vecchia Signora were left having to convert Arturo Vidal into a makeshift centre-back as people began to question whether their lack of depth would scupper their bid for the Serie A title. Those testing times saw Juve draw six out of seven games, but they would win 10 of their last 11 when back to a full complement, to rob AC Milan of the title and return to the top of the Italian game. The next step is the top of Europe, and it appears that Antonio Conte and the club’s hierarchy are on the right track as they aim to strengthen their squad significantly enough to make a decent fist of the Champions League in 2012-13. Last season, they had the likes of Simone Padoin, Marco Borriello and an ageing Alessandro Del Piero as their first alternatives in case of injury or suspension, but in the campaign ahead they will find themselves with a much stronger bench. The double signings of Kwadwo Asamoah and Mauricio Isla from Udinese represents a huge step forward for the club. While the Chilean has shown fantastic form and versatility in any right-sided slot or in the centre of midfield during his time with the Zebrette, Asamoah has quite simply been one of the best performers in Serie A in recent years. The Ghanaian has quietly gone about his business of being the driving force of the Udinese side that qualified for the Champions League play-offs in successive seasons. Those who questioned whether Francesco Guidolin could get a decent campaign out of his team following last summer’s sale of Gokhan Inler failed to appreciate that it was Asamoah, not the Swiss, who had been their key in 2010-11. His performances helped to lead them to a top-three finish, with his drive, durability, coolness on the ball and superb timing of runs at the heart of their purple patch at the season’s end in particular.
He should, by right, be in the Juve starting XI from day one in the campaign ahead, but if he doesn’t it won’t be long until he is. Not that he won’t have competition for places, with Claudio Marchisio having played 36 times last term alongside Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, who have each made themselves sure-fire starters.
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Galatasaray agree €8m transfer fee for Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo.
Galatasaray have agreed upon an €8m transfer fee for Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo according to Italian newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport. The news coincides with Galatasaray board member Abdurrahim Albayrak hinting that the transfer of Felipe Melo from Juventus is nearing completion. Albayrak told reporters at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport, “Were not rushing anything, God willing more players will join us in Austria for our pre-season training. “There is no problem regarding the transfer of Felipe Melo.” Galatasaray Vice-President Ali Dürüst, club official Cenk Argün and Head of Foreign Relations Şükrü Hanedan have travelled to Torino, Italy to try and finalize a deal.

Melo has repeatedly stated he would like to make his loan deal permanent, in a recent interview he said, “There have been some rumours’ in the newspapers. The fact of the matter is, I am staying at Galatasaray. “My aim is to be successful at Galatasaray and help us win cups and competitions” he said.
The signing of midfielder’s Kwadwo Asamoah, Paul Pogba and Mauricio Isla are a clear indication that Melo will not feature in Juventus’s plans next season. The 29-year-old defensive midfielder had an outstanding debut season with the Lions scoring 12 goals in 36 games and helped the Lions go on to win their 18th league title.