Italian teams are never afraid to add veteran and aging players, and it seems Juventus never tire of adding quality central midfielders to their team, with the Serie A champions showing a lot of interest in Xabi Alonso, who isn’t likely to continue with Real Madrid past this summer.
According to Fichajes, Juventus are counting on Alonso not re-signing with Real Madrid, making him available to sign for free from January 1, although over the last couple of seasons, it has seemed like Alonso would prefer a return to England and the Premier League, with Arsenal and Liverpool looking like suitable destinations for his final seasons.
Juventus have won two Serie A titles based on a strong defense and an incredibly gifted midfield, that’s also deep as well as talented, with the young Paul Pogba showing that he has no problem filling in for the injured (and now simply out of the lineup) Claudio Marchisio. Adding Alonso to the mix wouldn’t shake things up, as Andrea Pirlo does need all the rest he can get at this stage of his career.
Alonso doesn’t seem like such a coach’s favorite anymore. He was an automatic choice for Jose Mourinho while the Portuguese manager was in charge, but his injury early on in the season is pushing Ancelotti to use Luka Modric more and more, and the Croatian has played surprisingly well during the first few matches.
There’s also been the acquisition of Asier Illarramendi which has proven Real Madrid are preparing for the day Alonso can no longer function at the highest level. He didn’t have the best of seasons in 2012-2013, but that may be attributed to the dressing room mess Real Madrid were going through during last season.
Alonso, as long as he has someone taking care of the defensive chores in the midfield, is still one of the best in building attacks and delivering accurate long balls. Juventus seem like a team that fit his style very well, but it’s too soon to tell if they’ll be a number one option for him, or if the English attraction will be too strong to ignore.