Southampton are often ahead of the curve when it comes to identifying the next generation of footballing superstars.
Sadio Mane was hardly a household name in Hampshire or beyond when he arrived in England nearly seven years ago after all.
The South Coast club were also willing to take the plunge on a talented young defender by the name of Virgil van Dijk in 2015. In the blink of an eye, the totemic Dutchman was taking the well-worn trail from Southampton to Liverpool, banking the Saints a cool £62 million profit.
But, when it comes to Gianluca Scamacca, it is hard not to be reminded of an interview former Saints owner Rupert Lowe gave to the Athletic in December.
Long before he was firing Chelsea to Champions League glory, a young Didier Drogba had powered himself onto Southampton’s radar after making a name for himself across the Channel.
Southampton failed to get a deal over the line and the rest, as they say, was history.
Scamacca is no Drogba (not yet, at least).
But, eight months after he held talks over a potential move to St Mary’s (Il Mianista), the Italy U21 international is at the centre of an almighty tug-of-war with two of Europe’s biggest clubs holding the rope.
“If there are conditions important, we will make our assessments. There is not only Juventus on him. We also talked about Scamacca with Milan,” explained Sassuolo director Giovanni Carnevali of an old-school target man who has impressed on loan at Serie A rivals Genoa.
Corriere dello Sport claims that Juventus are in talks over a deal that could set them back around £20 million. It is no secret that Andrea Pirlo wants a physical, penalty-box presence to offer competition for Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo.
After being linked with the veteran duo of Olivier Giroud and Graziano Pelle, Scamacca has emerged as the first choice.
“He has unique characteristics: many compare him physically to (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, and I think he also resembles him technically,” former Sassuolo coach Christian Bucchi told TMW.
“He has to forge his character with experience and he can go a long way.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
