Juventus Reject Arturo Vidal Return as Inter Wait for Right Deal
By Tom Gott
Juventus are believed to have rejected the chance to re-sign Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal this summer, leaving Inter as his most likely destination.
Barcelona are preparing themselves for a summer clear-out to try to fund a spending spree. Inter's Lautaro Martínez is at the top of their wishlist and Juventus' Miralem Pjanić is up there too, but the idea of swapping players has been suggested as the best option as Barcelona aren't blessed with too much money.
In their pursuit of Pjanić, Barcelona are believed to have offered Vidal in a player-plus-cash deal, but Calciomercato note that Juventus aren't interested. They do want to rejuvenate their midfield, but they don't see 33-year-old Vidal as the way to do that.
That's not a new stance from Juventus, who are said to have informed Barcelona back in December that they weren't prepared to do business over Vidal.
That reluctance saw Barcelona turn to Inter, who were desperate to sign the Chilean in January. However, when a deal could not be agreed, they turned to Christian Eriksen from Tottenham Hotspur, but they are still ready to land Vidal this summer.
The obvious avenue to explore would be to include Vidal as part of any deal for Martínez, but Calciomercato note that Inter are adamant that any deal for Vidal must be separate from anything else.
Negotiations over Martínez have proven to be so long and complicated, and Inter don't want to make things worse by throwing Vidal's name into the mix as well.
The Nerazzuri are prioritising the deal for Martínez as they don't see a desperate need for Vidal in their squad. Eriksen is already there, Stefano Sensi will soon be signed permanently and the plan is also to sign Brescia's Sandro Tonali, but Antonio Conte would also like to add Vidal to his squad.
The pair worked together at Juventus and are said to have remained incredibly close, but Conte is not going to force a deal if it's not possible. Inter do want to sign Vidal, but not as much as they did back in January.