Pep Guardiola isn’t short of creative midfielders that can turn over the ball with Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, but Stefano Lanzo of Tuttosport says Manchester City are scouting Nicolò Rovella of Juventus.
The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Monza and has been impressing in Serie A, so City are one club showing an interest. Whether Rovella will be sold by the Old Lady remains to be seen, however, as he clearly has great potential.
He’s yet to make an appearance for the Italian national team, so City fans won’t see him at the World Cup. But Rovella has featured 17 times for the U21s, scoring three goals with one assist, so it may not be long until he gets a call up.
The Italian joined Juventus on a five-year deal from Genoa in 2021 and has gone on to make three appearances in al competitions. He’s expected to stay at Monza until 2023 and has featured 11 times for the outfit so far.
In Serie A, Rovella boasts more tackles (1.7 per game on average) than Manuel Akanji (1.6) and has created more chances (1.4) than Riyad Mahrez (0.8), so he would improve the City squad. Juventus paid €26m (£22.6m) for the midfielder last year and his stock is rising while on loan, so he would cost a tidy sum of money.
Whether City end up lodging an official bid remains to be seen, but Rovella is on their radar. If Ilkay Gundogan leaves at the end of his contract next year, the 20-year-old may not be a bad long-term replacement.
In other news, Pep Guardiola won’t sell ‘struggling’ Jack Grealish despite ‘devastated’ report
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