Sassuolo director Giovanni Carnevali confirms Manuel Locatelli ‘wants to join Juventus’ despite offers from Arsenal and another English club, but he sets an August 8 deadline.
It has been clear for some time that the Italy international midfielder only has eyes for the Old Lady, snubbing a far more lucrative bid from Arsenal.
“Locatelli wants to join Juventus,” Carnevali told Sky Sport Italia this evening.
“However, the club needs to reach an agreement with us. We’ll see if there are the right conditions to make it happen, otherwise he is staying with us. We’ll speak to Juve tomorrow.
“Locatelli also has proposals from Arsenal and another English club that has now joined the race, so he must make a decision, or of course he could stay with us.”
The latest proposal from the Bianconeri was a two-year loan with obligation to buy for €30m plus bonuses, but this was rejected.
Sassuolo want at least €40m to part with the 23-year-old, especially as Arsenal already bid far more with €40m plus up to €5m in add-ons.
However, Locatelli made it clear from the start he would not even discuss personal terms with the Gunners.
“Perhaps it’s easier for Juventus to sign Miralem Pjanic right now that Locatelli,” joked the director.
Crucially, Carnevali also set a firm deadline for anyone interested in the Sassuolo talents, including Domenico Berardi.
“We are not selling any of our star names after August 8. Berardi is our top player, we want to keep him. If an offer were to arrive, we’d take it into consideration and talk to the player, but we won’t sell anyone deep into August.”
Sassuolo have three players in the squad who won the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament with Italy, Berardi, Locatelli and striker Giacomo Raspadori.