Weeks after making initial contact, Juventus are now seriously exploring a January move for Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
The Bianconeri need to pick up a new midfielder in the January transfer window after off-pitch issues removed Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli from Massimiliano Allegri’s squad for the rest of the season.
The former is still sidelined after testing positive for banned substance DHEA, whilst the latter has been handed a 10-month ban for his involvement in the recent betting scandal.
Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli has drawn up a long list of possible options to strengthen the squad in January and one name in particular has started to gather steam in recent weeks.
As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus contacted Phillips’ entourage recently to sound out a possible move in January and they’ve now started to explore the idea in more depth, believing the 27-year-old could be the solution to their problem.
The Englishman is on the fringes of Pep Guardiola’s squad at Manchester City and is expected to leave in the coming months, having seen just 167 minutes of action across six appearances this term.
The European champions are considering sending out Phillips on a six-month loan deal with no permanence clause in January, a formula that would perfectly suit Juventus, and they don’t want to send him to a Premier League or Champions League rival.
Other clubs around Europe are interested in the 27-year-old, including Tottenham, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich. Phillips likes the idea of becoming a starter at Juventus, so the idea could start becoming more concrete in the coming weeks.