News has emerged from Turin that Italian giants Juventus aren’t willing to pay the pre-arranged fee, believed to be around £10M, for Alberto Aquilani. The midfielder, 26, left Anfield in August on a season-long loan, with an option for Juventus to buy at the end of the season.
Aquilani found life in England tough after his big money move from Roma in 2009, and ended up playing just one season, making a handful of appearences in a Liverpool shirt. The arrival of Roy Hodgson meant new ideas, and Aquilani departed for Italy.
But Juve are only willing to pay £5M for the player, who has made 23 appearences and scored 2 goals for the club this season. Although Juventus insist this is the most they will pay due to their financial position, it has been reported that Kenny Dalglish will prefer to bring the player back to Anfield, rather than face such a huge loss in money.
Aquilani spoke out about his future on Friday, here’s what he had to say:
“There is nothing for me, just a loan with an option to buy. Liverpool set a high buy-out clause on my loan, especially in the current financial climate.
“I know it’s not easy. I knew coming here to Juventus that it would not be easy, but in all honesty I am calm, I’m not thinking about it and have never thought about it.
“Now I will finish off the year and try to give everything, as in any case Juventus have given me the chance to come back to Italy and have an important role in this squad.”
We can’t predict what the future will hold, but it looks unlikely that the Liverpool manager and board will allow Aquilani to leave for such a low fee. So don’t be too surprised if we see Aquilani in Liverpool’s plans for the new season.