Juve Striker Shopping?

By: Martha | May 16th, 2007

Be careful, he may eat you. Juve are all over the media this week, presumably because they’re thisclose to officially being back in Serie A, and everyone knows they’re going to be splashing some cash the summer in order to compete for the Scudetto immediately. That’s the plan, at least. The names will be myriad the moment the season ends, but right now there seem to be two primary ones: Udine’s Vincenzo Iaquinta and a certain speedy Nigerian.

Iaquinta has been the subject of transfer rumors for a while now, particularly after Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez declared his love for the player last month. Juve have also been consistently in the picture, but rumor has it Didier Deschamps would rather the money — Udine are expected to ask for €10 million — be spent elsewhere (On, say, a Man Called Gila.), fearing the striker wouldn’t fit into his system. This morning, though, La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting the two clubs are close to deal, with only about €1 million standing between them.* Well. If nothing else, this story will fan the flames of the Deschamps-is-out rumors.

Looking abroad, Juve are also allegedly interested in Newcastle’s Obafemi Martins, who seems to have some sort of falling out with the club. Since Martins has been Newcastle’s only productive striker all season, it would be a sign of serious problems were they to let him go, but he’s certainly a valid target for Juve — his cost would be relatively low, probably, since the club would sell only to dump a problem, and his period of adjustment to Serie A would presumably be short, given his experience with Inter. Plus, you know, he’s sort of awesome.

*Or, maybe he’s going to Roma.