In what may come as a bit of a surprise, Arsenal are linked with a move for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani. The 21-year-old has always been linked with a move away from the Turin club, even though he is one of the best prospects in Italian football and it does seem to be a of a crazy rumour that the Gunners bid £25 million for the Italy U21 defender.
Rugani for his part knows that he does have a bright future but the fact that he has not played regularly for the Turin giants must be playing on his mind. The greater the number of games he plays in, the better his chances of staking a claim in the Italy side and also help his development.
The former Empoli defender had made close to 80 appearances for the Serie A side before making the switch to Juventus and then he has only made 21 appearances for the Champions. Arsenal might be a great option for any young player but what would he bring to the side?
One of the best Italian prospects in years
It should not come as a surprise that many Premier League clubs were already linked with a move for Rugani and the 21-year-old has impressed more or less every time he has stepped onto the pitch.
Although he only had 11 starts for Juventus in the Serie A last season, he is quality enough to have started a few more games but replacing the likes of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini isn’t the easiest thing to do in the world.
The Italian is known for his aerial ability, something that could work for his favour in the English game and also the fact that Rugani is one of the best readers of the game. This is his greatest ability, the fact that he does not dive into tackles does not mean that he isn’t good at that aspect, the reason he doesn’t tackle so often is because his positioning is excellent.
Such a wise head on young shoulders is something that one does not expect in this day and age of football but Rugani has learned from some of the best in the game thanks to his time at Juventus. He is a true Italian player, with a great sense in the art of defence. Rugani is comfortable with both feet as well and isn’t afraid of passing the ball out from defence as well.
Arsenal might find it tough to sign Rugani given that he is one of the best young talents to come out from Italy but with Per Mertesacker not getting any younger, Rugani might just be the player to replace the German and also give Arsenal a quality central defender for years to come.