One of last summer’s most persistent transfer rumours has resurfaced at the start of the January window, as the latest reports are once again talking about Manchester United and their interest in Juventus star Arturo Vidal.

According to the Daily Star (h/t the Independent‘s Tom Sheen), the Chile international could be made available during the summer window if his performances don’t improve. The Daily Express‘ Anthony Chapman previously reported a similar story:

The Chile international came close to joining the Red Devils during the summer after Louis van Gaal tabled a bid of around £40million.

However, Vidal turned down the opportunity to move to Old Trafford, but has failed to hit the same heights of last season in Turin.

Paul Pogba is now Massimo Allegri’s main man in midfield, and reports in Italy claim that Vidal will be sold in the summer unless he can show some consistency following a number of injury issues mainly to do with his knee.

The 27-year-old midfielder had surgery on his knee ahead of the 2014 World Cup and struggled upon his return to Turin, needing several months to regain his old form. He has only started 10 Serie A matches so far, but has found the net on five occasions, per WhoScored.com.

Reports of Vidal’s poor performances have been somewhat exaggerated: The Chilean didn’t look himself for the first two months of the current campaign but has turned things around since then. While he’s still not back to his old self, he was one of Juventus‘ top players in the month of December.

He ended 2014 with a fantastic performance against Cagliari, scoring a beautiful curled effort and receiving the highest match rating from Italian newspapers Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport, via Khaled Al Nouss:

After the match, he told Sky Sports Italia (h/t Goal’s Mark Doyle) he intends to get back to his best form in 2015:

I want to get back to being one of the best [in the world] in 2015 and I’m working a lot to achieve this.

It was important to win this evening and we did that well. We have played against a difficult team and we have produced a good game. It was important to finish 2014 in first place.

The Bianconeri may not be looking to offload Vidal anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean a transfer is off the table. The emergence of Paul Pogba as Juventus‘ top dog in midfield and the strong play of Roberto Pereyra mean the Italian champions have the pieces in place to cope with losing the Chilean, unlike last summer.

Both Pogba and Vidal are popular names in the gossip pages, and given the financial struggles of Italian football, it would be difficult for Juventus to run down a significant offer for one of their top midfielders. BeIN Sports’ Tancredi Palmeri expects at least one of the duo to leave the club:

Pogba‘s new contract makes Vidal the odd man out, so while it’s too early to start speculating about where the Chilean ends up ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, expect the rumours surrounding his future to continue.

Meanwhile, the agent of Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Motta has voiced his concerns regarding his client’s status at his current club, warning the French champions plenty of clubs, including the Red Devils, would be interested in the Italy international.

Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Squawka’s Daniel Anwar), he said:

Nobody at PSG has decided to defend Thiago Motta after an article in a French newspaper, so my son (the other agent) pointed out that if the problem is him, we could talk about those who need a midfielder like Thiago. And many seek an important midfielder like him. Inter, AC Milan, Manchester United and Real Madrid where there is Ancelotti who knows him well.

If the directors of PSG were to think that the problem is Thiago, for the good of Paris Saint-Germain, Thiago does not want to be unwanted guest.

The midfielder has been a regular starter for Les Bleus in 2014-15 but has failed to live up to the lofty expectations, and via Ligue1.com’s Matt Spiro, La Gazzetta dello Sport believes the 32-year-old feels underappreciated:

Motta does his best work next to compatriot Marco Verratti, shielding the young pass-maestro and providing him with ample time to work his magic. The former Inter Milan midfielder is a work-horse above all else, something Louis van Gaal would certainly appreciate.

The Red Devils’ midfield has looked solid, if unspectacular during the current campaign, and Bleacher Report’s Ryan Bailey and Andy Brassell agree the squad could use an addition in that area:

Le Parisien (h/t Bleacher report’s Jonathan Johnson) also believe he is free to leave the club in January, opening the door for a potential transfer:

Price will be the key question: Motta is 32 and slowly nearing the end of his career, so while he makes perfect sense as a short-term reinforcement, United know they won’t be making a long-term investment.

PSG still use Motta as a regular starter, and while they could no doubt find a replacement—youngster Adrien Rabiot comes to mind—they’ll be in no rush to offload the veteran, despite his agent’s comments.

The Italian could still be worth a punt, however, and for the right price, Van Gaal could bring in an experienced veteran who would boost the squad’s chances of finishing the season in the top three of the Premier League standings.

 

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