One of the weirder rumours of the summer transfer window so far has today originated in the London Evening Standard today, and has since been rehashed in the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. It claims that Serie A champions Juventus are looking to replace the Manchester United-bound midfielder Arturo Vidal with Jack Wilshere, with the money recouped from the Chilean's sale reinvested in the Arsenal man.
Juventus reportedly want Jack Wilshere to replace Arturo Vidal
This is a weird rumour.
Paul Gilham
Does it stand up to scrutiny? Let’s see.
Why it makes sense
Manchester United's interest in Arturo Vidal has led to one of the longest-running transfer sagas of the summer so far. Plenty have sources have suggested that Louis van Gaal would love to have the Juve midfielder at Old Trafford, though as of yet the parties are still engaged in a standoff, with little sign of movement. However, if he is sold, then Juve are certainly going to need a midfielder to replace him.
Jack Wilshere could well fit the bill. Though last season was a rotten one for the injury-prone midfielder, he’s still only 22 and still has plenty of time to develop into a solid Champions League-level player. He’s also been used in a variety of positions and has the energy to cover a lot of ground, which would make him a suitable Vidal replacement in Juve’s mobile midfield.
Why it doesn’t make sense
First and foremost, this rumour doesn’t seem to have originated anywhere remotely reputable, and the reports have first come from English sources rather than the better-connected Italian ones. If there was a serious chance of this happening, then you’d imagine the likes of Gianluca Di Marzio would’ve picked up on it, and made sure everyone knew all about it.
It also doesn’t make sense because we’ve not really had any movement on the Vidal front. If he’s not going anywhere, Juve aren’t going to feel in desperate need of beefing up their midfield. Likewise, unless Arsenal make another midfield signing, they’re not going to want to let Wilshere go. Last season they were so thinly spread in that area they ended up signing average Swede Kim Källström on loan in a signing that will no doubt be immortalised in pub quiz questions for its sheer weirdness.
Even if Vidal does end up leaving, Juve would surely be able to find better value options elsewhere. If they really are an ambitious club looking to establish themselves as one of Europe’s best once again, then they could probably do better than reinvest the Vidal money in a player who hasn’t been wholly convincing over the last year, and who probably has a bigger price tag than most just by virtue of being English.
Likelihood it happens
Weird source and a transfer that, at present, makes little sense for either side. This one is almost certainly not going to happen. 2 out of 10 chance.
