Man City, Juventus, Milan – Where will Manuel Locatelli end up?

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Manuel Locatelli’s performances for Sassuolo in the 2020/21 campaign have seen him emerge as one of the most sought-after midfielders in Europe.

The Neroverdi are enjoying a good season in Serie A and are currently in seventh just four points adrift of the Champions League places.

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A huge factor in their successes so far has been Locatelli, who has developed into the star midfielder that promised so much at Milan only to fall by the wayside slightly.

After joining the Rossoneri youth ranks from Atalanta at the age of 11, he would go on to make his debut for the club in April of 2016 against Carpi, before earning his first start on the last day of the season in a match against Roma.

Within the tenures of Vincenzo Montella and Gennaro Gattuso, he fell out of favour, which led to the Sassuolo move, initially on loan with the option to buy.

Locatelli revitalised his career, prospering under the pressure as the team’s main creative force in midfield.

One of the reasons he initially left Milan was that he believed the club had lost trust in him.

Now, he could be set for the biggest transfer of his career so far, as Mail Sport reports that Man City, Juventus, and indeed former club Milan are all interested in signing him either in January or this summer.

Snapshot: Manuel Locatelli

Sassuolo, like every other team in Europe, has seen their finances impacted by the current pandemic, and so would accept a fee in the region of £30 million [€34m].

With Fernandinho likely to leave at the expiration of his contract at the conclusion of this season, Man City allegedly view Locatelli as a potential replacement.

Andrea Pirlo is reportedly a big fan, and Locatelli’s agent suggested a move to Juventus was already in the works.

“Juventus were interested in signing him in the summer, but the clubs did not reach an agreement. It can happen,” Stefano Castelnuovo told Tuttosport.

Milan, too, are keen on bringing their former player back to San Siro, but having just spent big on Sandro Tonali, combined with the fact they already have Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer, too, then this one seems unlikely.