Undefeated in their opening 10 games with their vice-like grip on the Serie A set to continue for at least another season, Juventus is a tantalising prospect for any player.
Furthermore, the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer has led them to third favourites to win the Champions League - at 11/2 narrowly behind Manchester City (4/1) and Barcelona (5/1) - for what would be the Bianconeri’s first success in Europe in 23 years.
With a strong, stable squad whose impressiveness on a team sheet is matched by quality on the pitch, Juventus are looking to add to their roster by acquiring Manchester City’s youngster Phil Foden.
The Mirror reports that, astonishingly, Foden could be made available if he fails to agree a new deal at the incumbent Premier League champions - his current contract expires at the end of the 2019/20 season - and that the young Englishman could be available for development costs of £175,000.
Seen as one of the most exciting homegrown talents to come through the City academy in years, with parallels drawn by Oxford United manager Karl Robinson to Barcelona legend Andrés Iniesta, Foden already has a Premier League title under his belt and was awarded the 2017 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year to partner his Golden Ball won at FIFA Under-17 World Cup Championships last year.
However, whilst the talent coming through the City academy is becoming more and more noticeable, and on a level to really match Europe’s elite, the young stars rarely get a chance to shine in Pep Guardiola’s efficiently merciless team packed full of big-money signings.
Last year, Guardiola had to defend himself after the curious - some would say insulting - decision to name just six substitutes for a Premier League fixture against Burnley instead of granting a place to an academy graduate, a decision pundit Gary Neville labelled as ‘a joke’.
Though Stockport-born-and-bred Foden obviously bleeds blue, seeing chances forthcoming being few and far between whilst also casting a glance across to the success of other English exports Jadon Sancho - another graduate of City’s rapidly improving academy - and Reiss Nelson in foreign lands might, in fact, sway the 18-year-old in his decision to swap Manchester for Turin.
