Alvaro Morata to Arsenal: Juventus admit they expect to lose striker as they draw up list of replacements

James Benge26 May 2016

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed he is making plans for next season without Arsenal target Alvaro Morata in mind.

The Spanish striker is expected to depart the Italian champions early next month, when Real Madrid are able to activate a buyback clause believed to be worth €30million with the intention of selling him on to the highest bidder.

And Allegri is seemingly resigned to losing Morata, who struggled to secure a starting spot in the Juventus side over the second half of the season. He confirmed that the club have already built a long list of potential replacements, with Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo believed to be the leading candidate.

The forwards Arsenal have scouted ahead of the transfer window

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“The club are working on the transfer market and monitoring possible alternatives,” he told Sky Italia. “We have a lot of forwards with players who are all in national teams and many young guys.”

Allegri added: “I’ve already given Morata some advice: he needs to stay at Juventus… What did he say? He nodded. I hope he understands, I’m saying this for his own good.”

Another potential candidate to replace Morata would be Michy Batshuayi of Marseille, who has also drawn interest from Tottenham and West Ham.

Standard Sport revealed last month that the Belgian striker preferred a move to White Hart Lane over the Serie A title-holders, and club CEO Giuseppe Marotta admits even a side of Juventus’ stature will struggle to compete with the financial muscle of the Premier League.

“Italian football is in continuous decline, in these first few days of the transfer market I’ve found that in the Premier League there is so much money available and that creates problems for us with wages,” he told reporters.

“There are mid-level Premier League clubs who offer significant salaries, we aren’t on the level to compete.”

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