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It could be a big January for Maurizio Sarri's Juventus. The Italian champions, who currently sit second in Serie A, have already signed young talent Dejan Kulusevski and loaned him back to Parma. Reports suggest that 17-year old Nantes player Jean-Claude Ntenda is also having his medical and is ready to sign his contract with the Bianconeri.
The departure of Mario Mandzukic means that a back-up striker is also in the January plans. There has been criticism about the way Juventus have played football under new manager Sarri and the Italian champions will be looking to make some signings to set things straight.
While it is a known fact that conducting transfer business this month is a difficult task, there could be some outgoing transfers for Juventus too. Game-time is always an issue at top clubs and some players could be moving to different clubs to get first-team action. Keeping that in mind, we look at three players who could leave Juventus in January:
#3 Adrien Rabiot
It has not been a good start in the Serie A for Adrien Rabiot. The midfielder chose to join the Italian champions and rejected the chance to join the Premier League in the summer. The 24-year old has appeared 13 times for Juventus this season, including only eight starts.
Rabiot though intends to continue in Turin for the foreseeable future. The strong and capable defensive midfielder has decided to fight for his place in the team and seems to have the full backing of the club's staff. Juventus are not keen on selling the midfielder but a loan move till the end of the season could be an option for the Frenchman.
#2 Daniele Rugani
Rugani's reunion with Maurizio Sarri has not gone how he had hoped it would. The defender was a young star under Sarri at Empoli but has struggled to get game-time at Juventus. With Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Merih Demiral and Giorgio Chiellini all above in the pecking order, the defender could very well move away from the Italian giants.
Rugani is a tall, tactically versatile, and physically strong centre-back. He is solid while defending and holds his position perfectly. It’s suggested that if the right offer was to arrive, Juventus would be ready to negotiate and sell the defender. There could even be a loan deal with an option to buy at the end of the season.
#1 Merih Demiral
The very capable Merih Demiral completes our list. The defender has been linked to a move to the Premier League, like his team-mate Daniele Rugani. Brendan Rodgers' high flying Leicester City have made Demiral their number one target and are looking to seal the deal this month.
Brendan Rodgers is refusing to give up on the defender and reports suggest that a third bid could be made very soon. The Foxes want Demiral to form a centre-back pairing with his compatriot Caglar Soyuncu. Demiral's performances have kept Juventus unwilling to sell him, despite offers coming in from many clubs in Europe including Borussia Dortmund.
The talented Turkish international can play at centre-back or on the right of defence but has made only six appearances for the Old Lady in all competitions this season. With interest from big clubs with the promise of first-team football, the defender's transfer away from the Italian champions will not be a surprise.
