Juventus & Inter to duel for Serie A defender who stopped Lukaku & Vlahovic | OneFootball

While the two clubs will lock horns on the pitch next weekend, Juventus and Inter will also renew their never-ending rivalry on the market as they’re reportedly vying for the services of in-form Empoli defender Ardian Ismajli.

The 28-year-old is an Albanian international player who has been building himself a reputation in Italian football since joining Spezia in 2020. After spending a year in Liguria, the centre-back signed for Empoli in the summer of 2021.

The Majance native had his highs and lows during his time at the Carlo Castellani Stadium. For instance, he struggled for a starting spot last season, with Sebastian Walukiewicz and Sebastiano Luperto often picked ahead of him.

But with the Pole joining Torino and the Italian signing for Cagliari, Ismajli regained his starting berth, and has been delivering the goods for Roberto D’Aversa’s side this season. In fact, Empoli’s defenses have been one of the most impressive thus far, partially thanks to the Albanian’s prowess who was superb against some of the finest strikers in the league, the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, Romelu Lukaku and Artem Dovbyk.

So according to Calciomercato, Ismajli has attracted the interest of several suitors, and chief among them Juventus, Inter and Napoli.

As the source explains, the former Spezia man is running on an expiring contract, so the Nerazzurri would like to poach him as a free agent next summer, as Beppe Marotta and Co. often do.

But on the other hand, the Bianconeri could decide to anticipate their challengers by offering Empoli a small transfer fee to sell the player in January. He would thus arrive as a replacement for the injured Gleison Bremer.

Juventus had pulled off a similar maneuver last January when they overtook Inter in the race for Tiago Djalo by striking an agreement with Lille while the Nerazzurri were close to signing him the following summer.