Juve confident of signing Locatelli after 'suitable offer' to Sassuolo

23-year-old midfielder burst into the limelight as a replacement for injured Marco Verratti during Italy's Euro 2020

MILAN:

Juventus are confident of signing Italian midfielder Manuel Locatelli after making a "suitable offer" to Serie A rivals Sassuolo, the Turin club's director Pavel Nedved said on Saturday.

Locatelli, 23, burst into the limelight as a replacement for injured Marco Verratti during Italy's Euro 2020 triumph scoring a brace in the group stage against Switzerland.

"We want the player and he wants us, we are convinced that our offer is good and fair," Nedved said before Saturday's 2-1 win over Serie B club Monza in the Berlusconi Trophy.

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri wants Locatelli for his midfield and the former AC Milan player is also keen to move to Turin despite the offer reported to be considerably less than his rating at 40 million euros ($47 million).

"We have presented a suitable offer in line with the current climate, also with Covid. We are waiting confidently, we want to bring him to Juventus," added Nedved.

Ukraine's Yaremchuk joins Benfica for 17 million euros

Ukraine striker Roman Yaremchuk moved from Ghent to Benfica on Saturday in a deal worth 17 million ($20 million) euros, the Portuguese giants announced.

The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract until 2026 with a release clause valued at 100 million euros.

Yaremchuk played at the European Championship this summer, scoring two goals in five games as Ukraine reached the quarter-finals where they lost 4-0 to England.