According to reports from Football Italia this morning, a string of clubs have joined Liverpool in the race to sign Sassuolo star Domenico Berardi.
The 21 year-old is one of Serie A’s most exciting prospects, boasting a potent haul of 44 goals in 110 appearances for the Mapei Stadium outfit and regularly featuring for Italy’s U21 squad.
Reports earlier this month suggested the 6 foot 1 forward could become one of Jurgen Klopp’s first signings as Liverpool boss, having tracked him whilst in charge of Borussia Dortmund – back when a complicated co-ownership agreement with Juventus stood in the way of a move to Westfalenstadion.
That news, in combination with reports of Juve already preparing to activate their buy-back clause, has prompted a staunch response from Sassuolo managing director Giovanni Carnevali.
He recently told Italian publication TuttoSport; “I can rule out a January move. That’s not part of our company policy. Last year, we invested €10m (£7.2m) in him. For now Berardi is completely a Sassuolo player and we’re not a club that needs to sell. With Juventus it’s an open discussion. It’s an advantage, but Juventus are not the only ones to be following Berardi.”
And according to Football Italia, who summarise a report from Corriere della Sport, the other clubs in question include Chelsea, Manchester United and European champions Barcelona. They claim Barca’s international sporting director Ariedo Braida has already conducted personal scouting missions to run the rule over Berardi.