Juventus and Napoli are pushing Nottingham Forest for Belgium international Orel Mangala, according to Sky Sports Deutschland.
It is known the two Serie A clubs are looking for reinforcements in midfield during the January transfer window and have often gone for the same targets.
This is somewhat inevitable considering Juve hired director of sport Cristiano Giuntoli from Napoli over the summer, so they share a wish-list of options.
Reports in Germany suggest the latest battle is over Mangala, a 25-year-old with 12 senior caps under his belt for Belgium.
His contract with Nottingham Forest runs to June 2026 and he seems open to a departure in the January market.
He only joined the Premier League side in July 2022 from VfB Stuttgart for €13m and has made 18 appearances for the team this season, scoring one goal.
The asking price would likely be in the region of €25m, which could be a problem for both Juve and Napoli mid-season.
That is roughly the amount that Napoli are negotiating to pay Udinese for Lazar Samardzic, at least they were until Juventus seemingly intercepted with a proposal for the summer.
🚨Excl. News Orel #Mangala: @juventusfc and @sscnapoli are pushing for him! Interest is concrete.
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) January 11, 2024
➡️ Talks about a transfer in winter
➡️ Permanent deal.
The 25 y/o open to leave Forest now. @SkySportDE 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/1xieUFsprS