Juventus are preparing a bid in the region of €10 million (£9m/$11m) for young Barcelona left-back Juan Miranda, Goal can confirm.
The 21-year-old has been on the Bianconeri's radar for some time and sporting director Fabio Paratici has travelled to Catalunya with hopes of getting a deal over the line before the closure of the summer transfer window.
Doing so is unlikely to be easy, however, with the Spanish champions wary of letting go of such a highly-rated raw talent to a European rival. As such, Barca would prefer to loan out Miranda, with Ligue 1 side Marseille seemingly in pole position to land the player.
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Bundesliga outfit Schalke have also registered their interest in the temporary signing of the starlet, but it is thought that they remain some way behind OM in Barca's list of preferred destinations for the defender.
Juve's move for Miranda may come as something of a surprise to fans, with the club having been at pains for some time to find a new club for both Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala - the attacking pair having been deemed surplus to requirements in Turin.
Talks over a move to Man Utd for the former, potentially as a makeweight in a deal to sign Romelu Lukaku – now at Inter – ground to a halt, while a return to former club Bayern Munich now appears to be off the table completely.
As for Dybala, a mooted move to Tottenham also fell through due to complications over image rights and, with the English transfer window now closed, the Argentine would have to wait until at least January for a move to the Premier League, if indeed that is his preference.
Paris Saint-Germain have also been mentioned as a potential destination for the forward, but the Ligue 1 champions thus far have not made an official approach.
That could, however, be due to the complicated situation surrounding Neymar, who has made no secret of his desire to leave the French capital before the end of the remaining European transfer windows.
Barca are odds-on favourites to bring the Brazilian back to Camp Nou, especially after having shifted Philippe Coutinho's wages off their books following the former Liverpool star's transfer to Bayern – a loan signing with a €120m (£110m/$133m) purchase option.
