Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder is being strongly linked with a return to Serie A as mounting reports are confirming talks between Italian giants Juventus and the Turkish champions.
Yesterday, coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted his club was looking for a playmaking midfielder and would not rule out a possible move for Sneijder.
“The other teams have already made their moves,” Allegri said. “But reinforcing Juventus isn’t a simple task. I think you can reinforce and also complete. It’s not a secret, we’re looking for an offensive playmaker and a defender, so I think that’s where Juventus will move over January.”
“About Sneijder, let’s see if he comes before speculating on where he’ll play. For the moment he’s still a player with Galatasaray.”
“I think this team has the possibility of improving, regardless of the characteristics of the players. Sneijder of course has some great technical qualities and he’s proven that over his career.”
“He’d be completing a strong midfield, which would also create competition in that department, and that’s important.”
Today, Sneijder’s agent Guido Albers has confirmed interest from Juventus to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
“Juventus do want Sneijder,” Albers told De Telegraaf. “But only when an agreement is reached between the clubs will the hypothesis of coming back to Italy be considered.”
“Until then he’s only going to concentrate on Galatasaray. If there should be a transfer, he would be happy to come back to Italy, where he won his best victories.”
Sneijder was a key figure during Inter Milan’s treble-winning season in 2009-10 under then-manager Jose Mourinho. The Dutch playmaker joined the Italian club in August 2009 from Real Madrid and helped engineer one of the best seasons in the Nerrazzurri’s history as they went on to win the Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League titles.
The 30-year-old midfielder made the switch from Internazionale to Galatasaray in January 2013. Since that time, Sneijder has directed the club to a Super Lig title, the Turkish Cup and a Turkish Super Cup.
