The managerial carousel at Anfield has taken another lurch, and the reverberations are being felt all the way down the spine of Italy. Arne Slot's dep...
The managerial carousel at Anfield has taken another lurch, and the reverberations are being felt all the way down the spine of Italy. Arne Slot's departure from the Liverpool dugout, confirmed by GoalZaza earlier today, has pricked up the ears of the Old Lady. Juventus, still smarting from a season of defensive inconsistency, are reportedly dusting off their long abandoned interest in Alisson Becker.Let's not kid ourselves here. This is not a knee jerk reaction from a club panicking over a patch of bad form. This is a calculated piece of opportunism, the sort of transfer voodoo that Juve have historically executed with chilling precision. The logic is brutally simple. A new manager at Anfield, even one as tactically astute as Slot was supposed to be, always wants his own man between the sticks. That often means upheaval. And when there is upheaval, there is an opening for a club with the financial clout and the sheer bloody mindedness of Juventus.Does Alisson want to trade the wet and wild of a Premier League winter for the tactical cathedrals of Serie A You would be a fool to bet against it. The man has won it all at Liverpool. He has the Champions League medal, the Premier League title, the lot. At thirty two years of age, he is still a phenomenal shot stopper, a sweeper keeper who plays the ball out with the composure of a deep lying playmaker. But the question is no longer about his quality. It is about his hunger. A new challenge in Turin, a chance to be the cornerstone of a defensive rebuild under a manager who will actually organise a low block, might just be the tonic the Brazilian needs.The problem for Juve is the obvious one. Money. Alisson is not a cut price acquisition. He is one of the most expensive goalkeepers in football history and his wages reflect that status. Yet if Liverpool's new man fancies a different profile of goalkeeper, a younger model perhaps, the asking price could become negotiable. That is the sweet spot Juventus are hoping to find. It is a delicate waltz, a game of nerves played out on the training pitches of Vinovo and Anfield.Make no mistake, this is not a done deal. It is a rumour with legs, however. Liverpool's loss of a manager who was meant to herald a new era of transitional play and tactical flexibility has created a power vacuum. And into that vacuum, the agents and the sporting directors are already sprinting. For Juventus, the prize is clear. A world class goalkeeper who can win you points from nothing. The question is whether they can pull the trigger before the window slams shut. Squeaky bum time indeed.
