Juventus boss keen on a reunion with Napoli striker

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri is keen on a reunion with Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik as he aims to reinforce the centre-forward department ahead of next season.

The Bianconeri have utilised the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain upfront this term, but Sarri is likely to make at least one change during the summer.

Higuain currently has just 12 months remaining on his existing deal with the club and it has been suggested that he could head through the exit door in the coming months as the club have no plans of renewing his contract.

As a result, a number of high-profile players including Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez have been linked with the club, but Corriere dello Sport (h/t JuveFC.com) claims that Milik is the preferred target for the manager.

Sarri signed Milik for Napoli four years ago in order to replace Higuain and it appears that the Poland international could be reunited with the head coach in a similar fashion.

Milik’s current deal with the Naples outfit expires at the end of next season and it is quite clear that the striker wants to move on after struggling to command a regular starting role.

The Pole has bagged an impressive tally of 46 goals during his 110 outings for the Serie A outfit, but he has not always been a regular starter for the club due to the presence of Dries Mertens.

At the age of 33, Mertens may have entered the final phase of his career, but he has shown no signs of slowing down and recently became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 122 goals.

Napoli are said to value Milik at around £45m (€50m) but it is reported that the Bianconeri may be reluctant to pay more than £36m (€40m), given his contract is scheduled to expire in June 2021.

Club president Aurelio de Laurentiis has often been reluctant to lower the valuation of his first-team players, but he may have to change his stance this summer, suppose no clubs are willing to meet the price tag.

Juventus and Napoli are scheduled to contest the Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico tonight. Milik, who has bagged 12 goals this season, could be restricted to a bench role after Mertens’ winning contribution against Inter Milan last weekend.

The Belgium international scored the club’s goal in the 1-1 draw in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final clash against the Nerazzurri and that was sufficient for his team to progress to the final with a 2-1 aggregate score.

Napoli are chasing their first trophy in any competition since 2014. Juventus, on the other hand, are aiming to lift the Cup for the fifth time in six seasons. They were eliminated at the quarter-final stage last season by Atalanta BC, who went on to lose the final against Lazio.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com