Reported Wolves and Arsenal target Federico Bernardeschi has been tipped to become a ‘great central midfielder’ by Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri, speaking to Football Italia.
The very nature of Sarri’s comments will have plenty in Turin raising their eyebrows in disbelief.
After all, Bernardeschi has looked out of sorts and, at times, out of his depth since a chain-smoking tactician took over at the reigning Serie A champions last summer.
During his formative years at Fiorentina, Bernardeschi ripped defences to shreds with his explosive pace and wicked delivery from out wide.
Sarri, however, is determined to transform the Italy international into something more like a ‘number ten’ – even if the evidence suggests that a flawed experiment is doomed to fail.
Bernardeschi has scored just once all season and produced a second assist in 27 matches with an ingenious backheel against Bologna in Monday – an increasingly rare moment of magic from a player who has become a lightning rod for the fans’ fury.
Tuttosport suggest that the £33 million flyer could join Wolves in a swap deal with Raul Jimenez this summer, while Arsenal have also been linked via Gazzetta dello Sport.
But with Bernardeschi still central to Sarri’s plans (both literally and metaphorically) do not expect the Juve boss to let him go without a fight.
“Bernardeschi is strong, he has technical and physical ability. He must find consistency and he certainly has to mature as a footballer, but I never had any doubts about his ability,” the former Chelsea and Napoli boss explains.
“I still think he can become a great central midfielder for his ability to accelerate.”
There is a very real chance, however, that Sarri could leave Turin before Bernardeschi does as the disapproval grows amongst one of Europe’s most expectant and demanding fanbases.
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