Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic is winning plenty of admirers.

The 21-year-old Serbian has netted 10 times in 12 appearances at club level this season.

Vlahovic is currently under contract until June 23, although La Viola want him to sign an extension.

TOP STORY – PSG TO ENTER VLAHOVIC RACE

Paris Saint-Germain will enter the race to sign Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic, claims Le10Sports.

The Parisians are lining up the Serbian striker as a potential successor to Kylian Mbappe should he exit the club when his contract expires at the end of this season, with Real Madrid circling.

Hot property Vlahovic is being pursued by Juventus, Liverpool and Tottenham.

ROUND-UP

- Unai Emery will not be the first permanent manager in Newcastle United's new era, BBC Sport journalist and Spanish football expert Guillem Balague understands. The Basque coach is set to stay at Villarreal for now, though his job there is under threat amid a poor start to 2021-22.

- The Sun reports Antonio Conte's arrival at Tottenham has seen Harry Kane abandon any plans he had to quit the club. Kane apparently wished to join Manchester City during the most recent transfer window.

- New Spurs boss Conte wants to sign Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, according to Metro. Conte also has Inter defender Stefan de Vrij in his sights, claims Football Insider.

- Milan are in the race to sign talented River Plate star Julian Alvarez in the off-season, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. Fiorentina have also shown interest in 21-year-old Alvarez, who has four caps for Argentina.

- Norwich City are considering a move to replace embattled manager Daniel Farke with former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, claims the Daily Mail. The Canaries have only two points from 10 games following their return to the Premier League. Howe has also been linked with the vacant Newcastle job.

- Newcastle want to make Inter's Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic their first major signing in January, says The Sun. Brozovic is out of contract at the end of the season.

- Lazio are looking to convince Luiz Felipe to ink a new deal with the club amid interest from Barcelona, Sevilla and Real Betis, reports CalcioMercato. The Brazilian centre-back's contract expires at the end of this season.

Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic is winning plenty of admirers.

The 21-year-old Serbian has netted 10 times in 12 appearances at club level this season.

Vlahovic is currently under contract until June 23, although La Viola want him to sign an extension.

TOP STORY – PSG TO ENTER VLAHOVIC RACE

Paris Saint-Germain will enter the race to sign Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic, claims Le10Sports.

The Parisians are lining up the Serbian striker as a potential successor to Kylian Mbappe should he exit the club when his contract expires at the end of this season, with Real Madrid circling.

Hot property Vlahovic is being pursued by Juventus, Liverpool and Tottenham.

ROUND-UP

- Unai Emery will not be the first permanent manager in Newcastle United's new era, BBC Sport journalist and Spanish football expert Guillem Balague understands. The Basque coach is set to stay at Villarreal for now, though his job there is under threat amid a poor start to 2021-22.

- The Sun reports Antonio Conte's arrival at Tottenham has seen Harry Kane abandon any plans he had to quit the club. Kane apparently wished to join Manchester City during the most recent transfer window.

- New Spurs boss Conte wants to sign Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, according to Metro. Conte also has Inter defender Stefan de Vrij in his sights, claims Football Insider.

- Milan are in the race to sign talented River Plate star Julian Alvarez in the off-season, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. Fiorentina have also shown interest in 21-year-old Alvarez, who has four caps for Argentina.

- Norwich City are considering a move to replace embattled manager Daniel Farke with former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, claims the Daily Mail. The Canaries have only two points from 10 games following their return to the Premier League. Howe has also been linked with the vacant Newcastle job.

- Newcastle want to make Inter's Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic their first major signing in January, says The Sun. Brozovic is out of contract at the end of the season.

- Lazio are looking to convince Luiz Felipe to ink a new deal with the club amid interest from Barcelona, Sevilla and Real Betis, reports CalcioMercato. The Brazilian centre-back's contract expires at the end of this season.

Nuno Espirito Santo's replacement at Tottenham will be no surprise.

Antonio Conte had been rumoured as the top choice.

The ex-Inter man looks set to make it official on Tuesday, barring any late hitches.

TOP STORY – CONTE SET FOR SPURS MOVE

With Nuno Espirito Santo officially out, Antonio Conte is set to step in at Tottenham.

According to widespread reports, Conte has agreed a contract through June 2023 and the move will be finalised on Tuesday.

The 52-year-old left Inter by mutual consent after last season.

The Sun claims Spurs will give Conte £150million to spend on new players.

ROUND-UP 

- Paul Pogba prefers Paris Saint-Germain over Real Madrid or Juventus once he makes his expected departure from Manchester United, Fichajes reports.

- PSG are eyeing Karim Adeyemi as a potential replacement should Kylian Mbappe leave, Sky Sport in Germany reports. The 19-year-old Red Bull Salzburg striker also has drawn interest from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

- Real Madrid's Marco Asensio will be in demand in January, with El Nacional reporting Liverpool, Arsenal, Juventus, Milan and Dortmund all have offers ready.

- Arsenal are eyeing Torino striker Andrea Belotti, says Calciomercato.

- Villarreal's Unai Emery is the new favourite to take over as Newcastle United manager, says the Mirror.

Nuno Espirito Santo's future as Tottenham manager is in doubt after a slow start.

The Portuguese only took over in June but his side are eighth in the Premier League with five losses already.

Spurs were humbled 3-0 at home by under-pressure Manchester United on Saturday.

Supporters made their feelings known at full-time as boos rung out around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

TOP STORY – SPURS READY TO REPLACE NUNO

Tuttomercato claims that Tottenham are working on a deal to have ex-Inter boss Antonio Conte replace Nuno Espirito Santo as manager.

Football Insider also reports that Spurs will sack Nuno this week, with Ryan Mason to be installed as their interim boss again.

The Standard claims that Porto head coach Sergio Conceicao is also under consideration for the job.

ROUND-UP 

- Le Parisien reports that Paris Saint-Germain could sensationally walk away from their contract with off-season signing Sergio Ramos, who is yet to debut for the club due to ongoing injury issues from his time at Real Madrid. PSG are said to believe they were misled about his injury status.

- Barcelona are interested in a loan deal for Manchester United's wantaway Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek, reports Sport.

- Real Madrid are considering moves for Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger, claims Marca.

- Theo Hernandez will ignore Manchester City 's advances and pen a new deal with Milan, reports Calciomercato.

- Tuttosport reports hot property Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic wants to join Juventus amid interest from Tottenham, among others.

What does the future hold for Paul Pogba?

Pogba, who re-joined Manchester United from Juventus in 2016, is set to become a free agent at season's end.

Juve are believed to be trying to lure Pogba back to Italy.

TOP STORY – JUVE LEAD RACE FOR POGBA

Juventus are in pole position to re-sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United, according to Sportitalia journalist Rudy Galetti.

Pogba is out of contract at the end of the season and is reportedly not prepared to sign a new contract with United.

The World Cup-winning France international left United for Juventus in 2012 before returning to Old Trafford in 2016.

Le10 Sport, meanwhile, claims Paris Saint-Germain are circling amid interest from Real Madrid also.

ROUND-UP

- Diario AS reports Xavi wants to sign Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman if he is appointed head coach of LaLiga giants Barcelona . Barca great and Al-Sadd boss Xavi is favourite to replace Ronald Koeman.

-  Theo Hernandez is set to snub a move to Premier League champions Manchester City or Ligue 1 powerhouse PSG in favour of re-signing with Milan, per Calciomercato.

- The Mirror says Newcastle United are struggling to prise Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag from Amsterdam. Also linked to Manchester United amid pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer , Ten Hag is reluctant to move to Newcastle due to their position in the table.

-  Inter have planned talks with Marcelo Brozovic regarding a new contract amid interest from PSG , Manchester United , Barca and Atletico Madrid , according to Corriere dello Sport.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri believes his side are a "mid-table team" following their 2-1 loss at Hellas Verona on Saturday, acknowledging they are currently no better than Igor Tudor's men.

An early double from the in-form Giovanni Simeone was enough for the hosts to seal the win, despite Weston McKennie's reply 10 minutes from time.

Simeone became the seventh player in the history of Serie A to have scored two or more goals against Juventus for three different sides (Genoa, Cagliari and Verona). The last player to do so was Enrico Chiesa, father of Juve star Federico.

The defeat was the fourth Juve have suffered in Serie A this season and comes after the late 2-1 reverse at home to Sassuolo just three days earlier.

Sitting in ninth place in the league following the latest setback, Allegri insisted his team can get out of their current funk but must be realistic as well.

"Words are meaningless right now. We're in a bad situation, we have to accept the reality that right now we are a mid-table team. We can get out of this situation with a little more determination and quality," Allegri said to DAZN after the game.

"We will drag ourselves out of this situation. There's no point feeling sorry for ourselves, that won't help, we just need to focus on what we need to do and then things will sort themselves out.

15 - Juventus have conceded at least 15 goals in their first 11 Serie A matches of the season for the first time since 1961/62, when they ended at 12th place of the table. Flaw. #SerieA #VeronaJuventus

— OptaPaolo  (@OptaPaolo) October 30, 2021

"It's a good squad, but things don't always go your way in football. We have to react with pride and determination. We had to play like a team that had one point, and we did, now we have to play like a team that has 15 points.

"We realised Verona were going to make it physical and a battle for every ball, so if you don’t meet them at that level, you will lose.

"Wearing the Juventus jersey does not give us a guarantee we will beat the teams in mid-table. We have to earn every point and do it with the right attitude."

When talking about playing styles, Allegri added: "Football is football, it is not fencing. You need to fight it out on the pitch at the same level. We lost a lot of tackles and aerial duels against Sassuolo too, and they are frankly not a very physical side.

"Verona knew that was how they had to play in order to beat Juventus. Our mistake was assuming we were better than Verona, and right now we are not. We must be realistic.

"There is no big team that has ever won without respecting their opponents. We are lacking that desire to fight it out, because games are a battle.

"There's nothing we can say now, we just need to stay silent and work hard to prove ourselves on the pitch."

Giovanni Simeone scored twice as Hellas Verona inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Juventus in Saturday's Serie A clash.

The in-form striker bagged a quickfire first-half brace – taking his league tally for the season to eight – to put Verona in command at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.

Substitute Weston McKennie pulled one back with 10 minutes remaining but could not prevent a second loss in the space of four days for the visitors, who were also beaten 2-1 by Sassuolo in midweek.

Following a fourth straight home win, Verona move above Massimiliano Allegri's men on goal difference into eighth place.

Igor Tudor has overseen an upturn in Verona's fortunes since replacing Eusebio Di Francesco in September.

Indeed, no side has since scored more Serie A goals than the Gialloblu, who took the lead after just 11 minutes.

Simeone, who netted four times against Lazio last time out, slotted home after Wojciech Szczesny parried Antonin Barak’s initial effort.

It was the 14th goal Juve had conceded in their opening 11 matches, the first time they have done so during a Serie A season since 1984-85.

The forward grabbed his second in emphatic fashion just three minutes later, latching onto Darko Lazovic's pass before arrowing a wonderful 25-yard strike into the top corner.

The visitors looked to respond before the break, Alex Sandro drilling into the side-netting while Paulo Dybala clipped the top of the crossbar.

Juventus improved in the second half and pulled a goal back in the 80th minute, McKennie controlling Danilo's fizzed pass before firing home off the underside of the crossbar.

It then took magnificent reflexes from Lorenzo Montipo to deny Dybala later on as Verona held out for another impressive win.

Paul Pogba's future at Manchester United remains unclear with his contract winding down.

The 28-year-old midfielder has so far opted against re-signing with the Red Devils.

Pogba had started the season brightly with United but was sent off in Sunday's 5-0 loss to Liverpool.

TOP STORY – UNITED WILLING TO LET POGBA GO FREE

Manchester United will not sell Paul Pogba in January despite the France international becoming a free agent at the end of the season, reports The Telegraph.

United face missing out on recouping some of the £89million they spent on Pogba in 2016 when he joined from Juventus, who are one of the teams who have shown an interest in signing him.

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with the World Cup winner.

ROUND-UP

- Nicolo Barella will re-commit to Inter and sign a new five-year contract with the Italian champions next week, reports Fabrizio Romano. Barella had been linked with the likes of PSG, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

- Eden Hazard will be permitted to leave Real Madrid by boss Carlo Ancelotti if he wants to go, according to Marca. Former club Chelsea and Newcastle United have been linked with the winger.

- Tottenham are making plans for Hugo Lloris' exit with Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, formerly of rivals Arsenal, top of their list, claims the Independent.

- Liverpool are hoping for Mohamed Salah to agree to a bumper new deal before the January transfer window opens, reports Football Insider.

Pavel Nedved has indicated Juventus could make use of the January transfer window as Massimiliano Allegri battles to piece together a winning team.

Vice-president Nedved was livid as he saw Juventus beaten 2-1 by Sassuolo on Wednesday, as the Turin giants fell 13 points behind Napoli and Milan at the Serie A summit.

For now, Nedved is prepared to back the players at Allegri's disposal, but he said January would be a time for reflection and potentially action to strengthen the Juventus squad.

The loss of Cristiano Ronaldo as the last transfer window closed means Juventus have been forced to look elsewhere for goals, given the Portuguese was so prolific in his three years in Italy.

Vice-president Nedved believes Allegri's current squad can come good, yet it appears nothing is being ruled out.

He said at the club's shareholders' meeting: "We have tried and are trying to rejuvenate the team, knowing that what matters is always the victory.

"The players, coach, staff, and all of us, know this. We had some difficulties, but we are going to start again tomorrow.

"It is difficult to talk about the Scudetto and the objectives right now. We have to look at the opponents who are in front of us, and work match after match because we still have a long way to go.

"We believe that the squad is sufficient and very good. We will evaluate things in January, but we are sure that the squad is of absolute value to aim for the top places."

Atalanta's Dusan Vlahovic has been recently linked as a likely target of Juventus, with the 21-year-old Serbian having been a revelation since the beginning of last season, netting 26 goals in 47 league games.

Nedved, who spoke alongside CEO Maurizio Arrivabene and president Andrea Agnelli, confirmed there has been significant progress in moves to sign up Paulo Dybala to a new deal, with the Argentine forward's contract due to expire at the end of this season.

"We are at an excellent point in Paulo Dybala's renewal," former Juventus playmaker Nedved said. "We are very happy that he is back and in good shape on the field, we are trying to conclude the operation."

There has been criticism of Nedved's behaviour, notably when he has shown a temper, but the Czech insisted he was a worthy vice-president.

"You can't play such a prestigious role just because I'm a friend of the president," Nedved said, quoted in Corriere dello Sport. "I don't think the ownership would allow it.

"I've always felt so many responsibilities, even too many. I've heard criticism too."

He said it was "fair" to be critical of his conduct at times. "But it is part of my character," he added. "I will always give everything for this club, I have always acted for its good and I will do it until the last day I am here."

Nedved said he would "never change", pledging: "I will carry out my work with maximum personality and commitment."

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli is refusing to give up hope on the European Super League while insisting no player, not even Cristiano Ronaldo, is bigger than Juventus.

Juve were one of 12 prospective founding members to announce their intention to form the breakaway, closed-shop competition involving Europe's elite.

The news of the potential breakaway caused anger across the continent, with all six English clubs involved subsequently pulling out alongside Atletico Madrid, Milan and Inter.

However, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juve stood firm on their commitment towards the radical changes in European football.

Agnelli once again addressed the matter on Friday prior to the Juve shareholders' meeting, held at the Allianz Stadium.

"The Super League, the consequences on ECA and UEFA, for the roles held for Real Madrid, Barcelona and today we are waiting for a ruling by the European Court of Justice," Agnelli told reporters.

"The Super League was the admission from 12 clubs that football is refusing change to maintain a political class that does not risk, does not compete but wants to cash in only.

"I do not want to give up, and I did not do it yesterday, I will not do it tomorrow.

"The system needs a change and Juve wants to be part of it. But only through constructive dialogue, for everyone."

Ronaldo, who joined the Bianconeri in 2018 before returning to Manchester United in September, was then praised by Agnelli despite the Juve president insisting no player is bigger than his club.

"Having had the best player in the world, Cristiano, was an honour and a pleasure," he added.

"The only regret is having had him for a year and a half without an audience at the Stadium. But it's the Juventus shirt that requires responsibility, not team-mates or work-mates.

"Juventus are bigger than anyone who has had the honour of crossing their path from 1897 to today; we must remember the values of Juventus and Turin: work, sacrifice, and discipline, which is what inspires all those who work here.

"As Oriana Fallaci said, you have to love, fight, suffer and win. And this must inspire us: we must love Juventus, fight for it, be ready to suffer, and always have the objective to win.

"We have to work as a single body, knowing that the team and the group come first. We are all useful, no one is indispensable."

Dusan Vlahovic has already made it clear he will not re-sign with Fiorentina.

The in-demand Serbia international is wanted by a host of European clubs.

Juventus are reportedly ready to make their move.

TOP STORY – VLAHOVIC TO TURIN IN JANUARY?

Juventus are eyeing a January swoop for Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic, according to Tuttosport.

Vlahovic has no plans to re-sign with Fiorentina and the Serbia forward has been linked to Juve, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham.

But Juve are believed to be desperate to prise Vlahovic from Florence amid their struggles, while Gazzetta dello Sport claims contact has already been made.

ROUND-UP

- The Daily Star reports Manchester United have cooled their interest in Antonio Conte as a possible replacement for under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer due to his expensive demands. Zinedine Zidane, Ajax boss Erik ten Hag and Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino have also been linked.

- Real Madrid and Liverpool are considering moves for United midfielder Paul Pogba, says Ekrem Konur. Pogba is out of contract at the end of the season and he has been linked with Barcelona, PSG and Juventus also.

- ESPN claims Chelsea and Newcastle United have been sounded out over their possible interest in struggling Madrid star Eden Hazard.

- Serie A rivals Inter and Juve are set to battle it out to sign Borussia Monchengladbach star Matthias Ginter, per Sport Bild.

- Nicolo Barella will sign his new Inter deal next week, according to Fabrizio Romano. Barella had been linked with the likes of PSG, Atletico and Liverpool.

The list of candidates to replace Ronald Koeman at Barcelona is already forming.

Koeman was dismissed after Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano which left them ninth in LaLiga.

Barcelona are battling financial challenges and have struggled since Lionel Messi's exit in August.

TOP STORY – XAVI OFFERED BARCELONA JOB

Barcelona have offered their vacant head coaching role to club legend Xavi, reports Goal.

The Catalans have acted fast with Koeman sacked late on Wednesday.

Xavi is currently coaching Qatari outfit Al Sadd but has an exit clause in his contract, although Barca are prepared to pay any fee required.

The 41-year-old long-time Barcelona midfielder retired from playing in 2019, with his final on-field stint at Al Sadd before moving into coaching.

ROUND-UP

- Liverpool are in the box seat to sign Leeds United's England international midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to the Daily Star. Phillips, who is contracted with Leeds until 2024, has been linked with Manchester United too, but the report claims Liverpool are his first choice and the deal would be worth around £60million.

- Manchester United have conceded that agreeing a new deal with Paul Pogba is impossible and are prepared to lose the France international on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season, reports ESPN. Pogba has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain , Juventus and Real Madrid .

- Manchester United's Amad Diallo is interested in going out on loan to Dutch club Feyenoord, according to Feyenoord TM. The 19-year-old Ivorian winger has not played this season.

- TEAMtalk claims that PSG have joined the pursuit of Leeds United's Brazil international Raphinha. PSG is the current home of Raphinha's Brazilian team-mates Neymar and Marquinhos.

- Chelsea are preparing for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen's exit by lining up moves for Sevilla's Jules Kounde and Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt, reports Eurosport.

Massimiliano Allegri was frustrated Juventus did not settle for a point against Sassuolo on Wednesday, instead leaving themselves open to concede a late winner as they chased one of their own. 

Juve lost 2-1 at the Allianz Stadium, their first defeat in 10 matches in all competitions and their first home reverse at the hands of Sassuolo. 

The Bianconeri had recovered from Davide Frattesi's first-half opener, as Weston McKennie headed in with 14 minutes to play. 

But Allegri's men went looking for a decisive second and instead allowed Maxime Lopez space to run through and score in the 95th minute, condemning Juve to their third defeat in 10 Serie A matches this term. 

It was the 13th league goal Juve have conceded this season – their most at this stage of a campaign since 1988-89 – and one of the most frustrating for Allegri. 

The coach, who became the third Juve boss to oversee 200 Serie A games, told a news conference his team "lost our heads" after equalising. 

He added: "We have to have a different management like we had up to the 75th minute. After the equaliser, we were frantic and we lost in the 95th minute. This cannot happen anymore. 

"When you can't win, you must not lose, and maybe this lost point will come to weigh heavy at the end of the season. 

"After the 75th minute, the inertia was over; if you can't score, you don't concede the second goal. Then it is a goal that is also bad to see." 

Juve drew 1-1 with Inter on Sunday, with that game providing an example of what Allegri was looking for, even if their equaliser at San Siro came courtesy of a controversial penalty. 

"It's more a mental thing, more a balance that we have to find, knowing that we don't have to be in a hurry, we don't have to be unstable when we play games," Allegri told DAZN. 

"We suffered less on Sunday. In Milan, when we were 1-0 down, we didn't even suffer a counter-attack, and today, at the end, we were immediately counter-attacked. 

"Against Inter, we were more orderly in playing the ball, more relaxed, tonight instead we were unstable after it went to 1-1." 

Federico Chiesa squandered Juve's best opportunities before McKennie's leveller, failing to hit the target with any of his game-high four attempts. He at least had a greater impact than Alvaro Morata, who did not have a single shot. 

Allegri stuck up for Morata, insisting: "Come the end of the season, he will have scored goals and he will surely have won games." 

Maxime Lopez struck for Sassuolo in the 95th minute at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday to deal Juventus a 2-1 defeat, their first reverse in 10 matches in all competitions.

A stunning finish brought an end to a frustrating encounter for the Bianconeri, whose season has hit another stumbling block after six straight wins heading into Sunday's draw at Inter.

Lopez's breakaway winner decisively put Sassuolo – previously without an away Serie A victory at Juve – in front for the second time, having earlier led through Davide Frattesi.

Weston McKennie's thumping header got Massimiliano Allegri's men back on terms and seemed to set the stage for a second home goal, but it was Sassuolo who were celebrating deep in stoppage time.

The game ended as it began, in breathless fashion. The visitors recovered from a rocky start to go close through Domenico Berardi, whose curling effort tested Mattia Perin, and came through another strong Juventus spell to lead on the stroke of half-time.

Paulo Dybala had hit the post and Federico Chiesa lashed over in the 10 minutes before the break, but an incisive move at the other end gave Frattesi a chance he would not pass up, finishing coolly past Perin.

Giacomo Raspadori was not so accurate when he might have doubled Sassuolo's advantage in the second half, a scare that stirred the hosts.

Juan Cuadrado's blast was cleared off the line by Kaan Ayhan, before Andrea Consigli beat away Dybala's drive and got back to his feet in time to see Chiesa nod over.

McKennie appeared the unlikely saviour then, meeting Dybala's free-kick with a fine header that flew beyond Consigli.

But Juve's pursuit of a second left Lopez in the clear to run onto Berardi's sublime pass, hold off the recovering McKennie and dink over Perin for a memorable Sassuolo triumph.

Giorgio Chiellini hopes Matthijs de Ligt is not taken away from Juventus by agent Mino Raiola, as he feels his defensive colleague already "has everything".

Now 37, Juve captain Chiellini is in the final years of his career, but the future of the Turin giants appears to be in the hands of De Ligt.

The former Ajax captain is still just 22 and is settled in Serie A in his third season with the Bianconeri.

De Ligt underwhelmed a little following his €75million transfer to Italy but has since performed well, last committing an error leading to a chance in the league in his debut 2019-20 season.

Although De Ligt has been limited to six appearances this term, with veteran duo Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci preferred against Inter on Sunday, he is certainly becoming a more dominant defender.

No Juve defender is contesting (4.5) or winning (3.4) more aerial duels per 90 than De Ligt in 2021-22, while his overall duel success rate for the season is up significantly to 67.4 per cent.

Indeed, Chiellini believes De Ligt has the full package, telling DAZN: "He's very strong, I call him Thor.

"If he had been Italian, it would have been easier to keep him for many years, I hope that Mino will give us the pleasure of leaving him a few more years in Turin.

"He has everything, but the difference is made in the head; he is 22 years old but has the mentality of someone of 30, and he sets himself the goal of wanting to improve every day."

De Ligt arrived at Juve as Andrea Barzagli retired, but he still finds himself competing with the other two members of the great 'BBC' back line.

That might not have been the case, however, as Bonucci briefly left for Milan – a move that upset Chiellini.

"I was hurt. That Milan was a team in difficulty, it was not Real Madrid or even Milan of now," he said. "Today it would be different, but at the time going there meant taking a clear step back.

"The choices remain personal and must be respected, but if we had been on holiday together that summer I would have made him understand that he was making a mistake. He realised it very soon."

Chiellini also could have been out the door by now, revealing he considered retiring following the coronavirus outbreak but played on to star at Euro 2020, where Italy won the title.

"I lived a hard period after my injury," Chiellini said. "I returned after six months and shortly after COVID broke out, and for almost a year I struggled to find the right balance.

"The thought of retirement made its way into my head but it was the European Championship that kept me going with the desire to be there at all costs."