Aston Villa have made an offer worth €20m plus bonuses for Rodrigo Bentancur, report Sky Sport Italia, but Juventus are unconvinced, targeting Nahitan Nandez or Denis Zakaria as a replacement.
According to transfer pundit Gianluca Di Marzio, the first formal bid has now been received from the Premier League side.
It is for €20m plus performance-related bonuses, but the asking price had been a minimum of €25m.
This is because Juve still owe Boca Juniors a 30 per cent cut of any future transfer fee as part of the original deal they struck in 2017.
The Uruguay international was purchased for €15.7m at the time, as part of the negotiations involving Carlos Tevez.
Now 24, Bentancur made 26 competitive appearances this season, contributing three assists.
His contract with Juventus runs to June 2024.
The report also suggests the Bianconeri have two options to replace Bentancur, the first choice being Nahitan Nandez on loan from Cagliari.
Another candidate is Denis Zakaria, who has told Borussia Monchengladbach that he will not sign a new contract, so he will be a free agent at the end of the current campaign.