According to an exclusive development courtesy of Spanish media outlet Sport, Juventus have reached a ‘verbal agreement‘ to sign Man City target Nelson Semedo this summer in a swap deal which will see Mattia De Sciglio and Miralem Pjanic go the other way.
Semedo, who has started 16 La Liga games for Barcelona this season, was linked with a move to the Sky Blues as a potential replacement for out-of-favour defender Joao Cancelo and a challenger to the in-form Kyle Walker, but Juventus may have put a dent in any would-be swoop as they reportedly reach an ‘agreement’ to sign him.
Which defender would you most like to see Man City sign this summer?
Dayot Upamecano
Milan Skriniar
Nelson Semedo
The 26-year-old, who has averaged an impressive 88.4% pass accuracy in the league this season, could move to Turin in a deal which would see De Sciglio and Pjanic head to Barca – along with the Italian side having to pay a €25 million (£22.3 million) fee to secure his signature.
Cancelo, who put pen to paper at the Etihad Stadium just last summer in a £60 million deal from Juve, has struggled for game time under Guardiola since his arrival – starting just eight league games all season according to WhoScored.
As a result, the Portuguese full-back has been linked with a move away from Eastlands, and Semedo was touted to sign as his replacement – but the Italian side’s ‘agreement‘ to sign him appears to have potentially doused any hopes of acquiring the defender’s services this summer.
Indeed, judging by this development, we may have to look elsewhere for defensive additions – with both Milan Skriniar and Dayot Upamecano also linked with a move to Manchester before the start of next season.