World Cup winner Marco Tardelli believes Nicolo Barella would stroll into Juventus’s midfield amid reports linking Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur with the Inter Milan star, as he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Back in January, as Antonio Conte’s Inter side downed Juve 2-0 at the San Siro, one player stood out a mile in an enthralling Derby D’Italia clash.
Rodrigo Bentancur, Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey were left choking on Barella’s dust as the Italy international set up Arturo Vidal’s opener with a sublime cross before scoring the second himself, racing into the penalty area to finish in ruthless fashion while sparking comparisons with a peak-era Paul Scholes.
Barella has barely been out of the headlines since.
InterNews report that Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool would happily invest £56 million to bring the former Cagliari dynamo to the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, meanwhile, have made an approach of their own (Calciomercato).
According to Juventus and Italy legend Tardelli, Barella would stroll into Andrea Pirlo’s starting XI if he was to swap Milan for Turin – hypothetically speaking, of course.
“I have always said that Juve have difficulties in midfield; it is the area which should protect the defence and help the attack,” said Tardelli, a six-time Serie A champion and 1982 World Cup winner.
“If that is missing, or if it is lacking quality or physicality, the result is what we have seen this season. Who can do today for Juve what Pirlo did (when he was a player)? I don’t see many of them around, those Pirlo-style players.
“The only midfielder I’d like to see at Juve is Barella. He is a very different player from Pirlo, but he has quality and quantity – a player of great quality who knows how to manage the midfield.”
According to FCInterNews, Barella has agreed a new contract until 2025; one that will increase his weekly wage to £75,000.
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