Juventus could decide not to take up the option to sign Alberto Aquilani from Liverpool on a permanent basis this summer, according to the Italian club’s former director of sport.
The Italian midfielder is currently on a season-long loan at the Stadio Delle Alpi, after spending one injury-plagued season at Anfield, and the Turin giants can sign the 26-year-old permanently for an agreed £12m fee in the summer, should they wish to.
Alessio Secco, though, believes the former Roma man has done little to justify such a large fee, and has suggested that Juventus will look to pursue other options, such as fellow loanee Fabio Quagliarella, from Napoli.
Seccio, who left Juventus last summer, said: “In my opinion, aside from the injury he suffered, Juventus will opt to sign Quagliarella from Napoli.
“It's true that he's coming off a rather serious injury, but in the end I think that his abilities as a player are not up for discussion and that Juventus will do everything to sign him.
“Instead, I think it'll be hard to see Juventus sign Aquilani. The player hasn't given the quality necessary to help the Bianconeri make that jump in class.
“Aside from the game against Lecce (a 2-0 defeat) on Sunday, in which the entire team played in a mediocre fashion, I think that Aquilani hasn't had a great season and that signing him for €16m seems a very exaggerated figure.”
Aquilani was signed for £17.1m from Roma by Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2009, but a serious ankle injury delayed his debut at Anfield, and he made just 26 appearances for the Reds throughout a stop-start campaign.
Since returning to Italy, he has featured 22 times for Juventus – scoring twice – but with Luigi Del Neri’s side languishing sixth in Serie A, and in danger of missing out on next season’s Champions League, doubts are now surfacing as to whether Aquilani will complete his anticipated switch to Turin.
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