Juventus confirmed the signing of winger Marko Pjaca from Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday, with the 21-year-old joining for €23 million to be paid over two years on a five-year deal.

Pjaca is a player of enormous potential, and he proved with an excellent showing for the Croatia national team at Euro 2016 that he can produce on the big stage.

Per SportMediaset (via Football Italia), he was previously linked with AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli and Liverpool.

But he has opted to join the Serie A champions, where he will be a nominal replacement for Alvaro Morata as one of Europe’s most exciting young attacking stars.

His preferred position is on the left flank, but he can play anywhere across the front three, including as a central striker.

With Zagreb in the 2015-16 season, he netted eight goals in 28 league appearances, earning himself a call-up to the Croatia squad for the Euros with a number of standout displays, per WhoScored.com.

His move to Juve and Serie A is undoubtedly a step up, but a deserved one that he will surely relish.

Pjaca has the quality to be a genuine star, as he is both creative on the ball while also being an effective goalscorer.

Under Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri and playing alongside fellow young stars Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba, he will surely improve dramatically. The Bianconeri have snapped up a very exciting talent.

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Juventus confirmed the signing of winger Marko Pjaca from Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday, with the 21-year-old joining for €23 million to be paid over two years on a five-year deal.

Pjaca is a player of enormous potential, and he proved with an excellent showing for the Croatia national team at Euro 2016 that he can produce on the big stage.

Per SportMediaset (via Football Italia), he was previously linked with AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli and Liverpool.

But he has opted to join the Serie A champions, where he will be a nominal replacement for Alvaro Morata as one of Europe’s most exciting young attacking stars.

His preferred position is on the left flank, but he can play anywhere across the front three, including as a central striker.

With Zagreb in the 2015-16 season, he netted eight goals in 28 league appearances, earning himself a call-up to the Croatia squad for the Euros with a number of standout displays, per WhoScored.com.

His move to Juve and Serie A is undoubtedly a step up, but a deserved one that he will surely relish.

Pjaca has the quality to be a genuine star, as he is both creative on the ball while also being an effective goalscorer.

Under Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri and playing alongside fellow young stars Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba, he will surely improve dramatically. The Bianconeri have snapped up a very exciting talent.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/29OverD
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Juventus confirmed the signing of winger Marko Pjaca from Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday with the 21-year-old joining for €23 million to be paid over two years on a five-year deal. 

Pjaca is a player of enormous potential, and he proved with an excellent showing for the Croatia national team at Euro 2016 that he can produce on the big stage.

Per SportMediaset (via Football Italia), he was previously linked with AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli and Liverpool.

But he has opted to join the Serie A champions, where he will be a nominal replacement for Alvaro Morata as one of Europe’s most exciting young attacking stars.

His preferred position is on the left flank, but he can play anywhere across the front three, including as a central striker.

With Zagreb in the 2015-16 season, he netted eight goals in 28 league appearances, earning himself a call up to the Croatia squad for the Euros with a number of standout displays, per WhoScored.com.

His move to Juve and Serie A is undoubtedly a step up, but a deserved one that he will surely relish.

Pjaca has the quality to be a genuine star as he is both creative on the ball while also being an effective goalscorer.

Under Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri and playing alongside fellow young stars Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba, he will surely improve dramatically. The Bianconeri have snapped up a very exciting talent.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/29OverD
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Juventus confirmed the signing of winger Marko Pjaca from Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday with the 21-year-old joining for €23 million to be paid over two years on a five-year deal. 

Pjaca is a player of enormous potential, and he proved with an excellent showing for the Croatia national team at Euro 2016 that he can produce on the big stage.

Per SportMediaset (via Football Italia), he was previously linked with AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli and Liverpool.

But he has opted to join the Serie A champions, where he will be a nominal replacement for Alvaro Morata as one of Europe’s most exciting young attacking stars.

His preferred position is on the left flank, but he can play anywhere across the front three, including as a central striker.

With Zagreb in the 2015-16 season, he netted eight goals in 28 league appearances, earning himself a call up to the Croatia squad for the Euros with a number of standout displays, per WhoScored.com.

His move to Juve and Serie A is undoubtedly a step up, but a deserved one that he will surely relish.

Pjaca has the quality to be a genuine star as he is both creative on the ball while also being an effective goalscorer.

Under Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri and playing alongside fellow young stars Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba, he will surely improve dramatically. The Bianconeri have snapped up a very exciting talent.

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Mauro Icardi will likely turn down any offers hoping to lure him away from Inter Milan, with Arsenal preparing to offer €50 million (£41.6 million), per Corriere dello Sport (h/t Edo Dalmonte of Calciomercato.com).

The Argentinian striker has become Inter’s main creative threat in the previous two campaigns, and despite the club securing disappointing eighth- and fourth-place finishes in Serie A in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively, Icardi is eager to stay on at the San Siro.

BT Sport’s Italian football expert James Horncastle published quotes from the 23-year-old Rosario-born forward on Twitter, with Icardi claiming he was intent on remaining with the club:

Per WhoScored.com, the Nerazzurri attacker has netted 38 league goals in the last two years, but the team’s overall performances have failed to match his sublime individual displays.

OptaPaolo provided the statistics to show Icardi‘s impressive strike rate following his first century of appearances in April:

Blessed with a powerful ball-striking ability, useful hold-up play and adaptability in the air, Icardi has proved himself to be alongside the world’s top strikers in recent times following his premature exit from La Liga giants Barcelona in 2011.

Commentator Adam Summerton was impressed with what he saw from Icardi last year in an underperforming Inter side:

Per Soccerway, he was handed his only international cap in 2013 in a CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. Despite his lack of international exposure, potential suitors remain interested, and none more so than Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger, per Dalmonte.

The Gunners are reportedly lining up a significant bid in order to enhance their attacking options, with France international Olivier Giroud coming under increased scrutiny for his lacklustre showing in front of goal last year.

Per Sean Kearns of Metro, Icardi‘s wife and representative Wanda Icardi was spotted in London on Wednesday for what was believed to be contract talks with Arsenal. 

Calciomercato.com reported the agent was “ready to travel” to meet the Gunners, but the location on her latest tweet suggested she was already in the English capital:

Another Serie A-based Argentinian attacker linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium is Napoli‘s Gonzalo Higuain, per Tom Dutton of the Evening Standard.

President Aurelio De Laurentiis has admitted the club are preparing to make significant headway in the market and said Napoli are considering allowing Higuain to depart the Stadio San Paolo. 

Per Dutton, he is quoted as saying:  

We’re working on various areas of the pitch. 

We’re after [Massimo] Donati and 10 others. We need a right-back – maybe it’d be better to have someone who can play either side – then we need one or two midfielders.

Then we’ll see if we’ll need a replacement for Higuain or not. Even without Higuain, we came second in 2013.

Higuain inspired his side to the runners-up spot in 2015-16 after a historic scoring feat. The 28-year-old broke a long-standing Italian goalscoring record during the campaign as he became the first player to ever score 36 goals in Serie A—topping Gunnar Nordahl’s tally from the 1949-50 season, per ESPN FC.

Take a look at the video below as Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe discusses the best possible destinations for the former Real Madrid frontman during this summer transfer window:

Higuain‘s future at Napoli is yet to be resolved, with Arsenal facing competition from Italy’s league and cup holders Juventus for the prolific striker, per Sacha Pisani of Goal.

According to WhoScored.com, Arsenal’s first-choice forward Giroud scored 16 goals in 26 league starts last term. Those figures could decrease notably should Wenger sign either Icardi or Higuain.

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