Premier League trio West Ham United, Southampton and Crystal Palace have all enquired about Koni de Winter but Serie A giants Juventus do not plan on selling the £17 million-rated defender, according to TuttoJuve.
A couple of months ago, De Winter’s agent admitted that there was ‘interest from England, Holland and Germany’ in his 20-year-old client, while stopping short of naming the clubs directly.
Fortunately, TuttoJuve are now taking it upon themselves to unmask those mystery suitors. West Ham, Southampton and Crystal Palace, they say, ‘have already requested information’ about the highly-rated de Winter.
As have Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach.
De Winter, a 6ft 2ins Belgium U21 international, is in the midst of an impressive breakthrough season in senior football. He joined Empoli on loan over the summer, and has featured eight times for a team sitting comfortably in mid-table heading into the World Cup break.
“De Winter’s (strength) is his being cold; his way of facing challenges as if he were a veteran,” Empoli coach Paolo Zanetti tells Gazzetta dello Sport. “He’s another predestined one. Great potential.”
Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham United like Juventus’ Koni de Winter
Juventus boss Max Allegri has made no secret of his admiration for the Antwerp-born 20-year-old either; highlighting him as ‘one for the future’. As such, the two-time European Champions have no plans to cash in on a classy centre-half already valued in the region of £17 million. De Winter, meanwhile, dreams of returning to Turin at the end of this season and establishing himself in black-and-white.
“He wants to do what Giorgio Chiellini did, to become a flag bearer for (Juventus),” De Winter’s agent adds.
“In his head, there is the desire to play with the first Juventus team. He does not want to leave here (permanently). He would like to become a black-and-white symbol.”
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