Juventus winger on Barcelona radar for June

It seems like Joan Laporta and Mateu Alemany’s recent trip to Italy for Pedri’s Golden Boy award ceremony could prove to be quite a fruitful one for Barcelona.

Reports earlier this week claimed that Laporta had met with superagent Mino Raiola during which a number of his clients were discussed as possible transfer targets for the Catalans.

Now, SPORT is claiming that Barça director Mateu Alemany was also busy holding meetings with representatives of prospective targets.

The report indicates that Alemany held talks with the agent of Juventus winger Federico Bernardeschi, to explore the possibility of a transfer in the summer of next year when his contract with the Italians runs out.

The 27-year-old was widely regarded as one of the finest wide players in Serie A when he burst onto the scenes at Fiorentina last decade. However, since moving to Juve in 2017, he has failed to kick on and establish himself as a regular starter at the Allianz Stadium.

In 164 appearances for the Bianconeri to date, the winger has a meagre return of ten goals and 22 assists. He has not found the back of the net for Juventus in any competition since the start of the last season.

Nonetheless, Barcelona are believed to be interested in the Italian international and are looking at the prospect of signing him on a free transfer in June. The report suggests that Alemany held talks with Bernardeschi’s agent, Federico Pastorello, although it was an informal meeting.

However, it is claimed that the pair have decided to meet again in the coming weeks and discuss in detail the chances of a summer move. As things stand, Barça’s transfer strategy for the summer is to spend big on one marquee signing and look for bargains and free transfers to improve squad depth.

Bernardeschi might not be the most productive forwards but does offer versatility, speed and work rate to the table.

While the 27-year-old is understood to prefer to continue at Juventus, the club have asked him to take a pay cut and an agreement is still some way away from being arrived at. Whether the Blaugrana decide to capitalise and make a move for him remains to be seen.