Locatelli’s brother discusses how difficult his transfer to Juventus was | OneFootball

Manuel Locatelli has been a lifelong Juventus fan and when the Bianconeri came forward to sign him at Sassuolo, the midfielder did not think twice before accepting their offer, but that does not mean the transfer happened smoothly.

As one of the best Italian players at the time, following his fine performance at Euro 2020, many clubs wanted to add Locatelli to their squad.

However, the Azzurri star had his mind made up about a move to Juve and wanted to wear only their shirt if he left Sassuolo.

His brother, Mattia, has now revealed the midfielder’s move took a long time because both clubs struggled to find an agreement.

He said via Football Italia:

“I remember that negotiations were lengthy. Arsenal were interested too, but he only wanted Juventus.

“Club directors [Juventus and Sassuolo’s] met many times without reaching an agreement. I was reading Gazzetta every day to have updates. Manuel was training separately at Sassuolo, hoping for a transfer. The day he made his debut, he sent us a picture with the Juventus shirt, saying: ‘I made it.'”

Juve FC Says

As one of the finest players in Serie A at the time, Sassuolo would have wanted a huge fee to release Locatelli, especially because Arsenal was willing to pay.

However, the player showed he would not trade his dream for more money and he is an example of the type of players we need to be adding to our squad.