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Juventus have leapfrogged Manchester United to become the favorites to sign AC Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, according to reports. The Turkish international is nearing the end of his contract and could leave the San Siro for free next summer.
Calhanoglu has been phenomenal for the Serie A side since moving from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2017. The Turkish midfielder has been involved in 67 goals from 140 games for the Rossoneri and is a very important player for Stefano Pioli at AC Milan. The Serie A giants are interested in keeping hold of Calhanoglu, but contract negotiations have not been fruitful so far.
As such, his stay at the club could soon be coming to an end soon there’s already a number of suitors vying for his signature. Rumours suggest that Manchester United and Juventus are at the very front of the line.
The Red Devils are yet to find a solution to their lack of creativity against teams who defend deep. The Turkish midfielder, as such, could appeal to the Manchester United hierarchy. However, Turin would also be an ideal destination for Calhanoglu. It now appears that Juventus have stolen a march on the Premier League side in the bid to secure the Turkish midfielder’s services.
Juventus’ record of signing free agents puts them ahead of Manchester United in the race
The Red Devils were long considered to be the favorites for his signature. In fact, it was earlier reported that Calhanoglu had rejected advances from Juventus because he was already in talks with Manchester United. It was also claimed that the Premier League giants had made progress in negotiations with the Turkish international and were preparing to sign him for free next summer.
However, other sources have revealed that previous rumours were reportedly nothing more than agent talk and that Manchester United have no interest in the player. If the latest reports are to be believed, Juventus are currently in the pole position for Calhanoglu’s signature, ahead of the Red Devils.
Juventus have a fantastic reputation for signing free agents, which makes them favorites to sign the Turkish midfielder. The Italian giants are already in talks with the player’s representatives and unfortunately for Manchester United, it appears that early discussions have progressed well.
Calhanoglu will be free to agree to a pre-contract at the turn of the year and the Old Lady could beat the Red Devils to his signature by then. Signing a player of his caliber for free would be nothing short of a coup for either side.
