Debate: Should Juventus sign Sneijder?

DEBATE: The former Inter star has been targeted by the Bianconeri as a potential January signing. But would the Dutchman be the right man for the Italian champions?

It started with Massimiliano Allegri saying he'd be more than open to working with Wesley Sneijder.

"I would like to have a €15 million villa, but if I can't afford it I have to look for an apartment that I like. Sneijder? In reality he is a villa, but with a particular situation," the Juventus coach told La Stampa last week.

Galatasaray's response was to tell Sneijder's agent that the player would not be leaving this January.

"The Galatasaray board told me that they won't sell Sneijder," Guido Albers told Belgian TV. "Wesley loves Galatasaray and the fans. His wife Yolanthe and he want to stay in Istanbul.

 

"If there is a club interested in him, they have to negotiate with the Galatasaray board, not with me. And any club who wants him will have to pay the €20m release clause in his contract. Not €5m, €10m or €12m..."

Juventus' previous number one target for January had been Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri, but they have since cooled their interest in the Swiss winger and turned their attention towards Sneijder.

On Monday, Allegri as good as confirmed that the Bianconeri are working on a deal for the Galatasaray man.

"Let's see if he comes. This team has the possibility of improving, regardless of the characteristics of the players," the ex-AC Milan boss stated.

"Sneijder of course has some great technical qualities and he's proven that over his career. He'd be completing a strong midfield, which would also create competition in that department, and that's important."

So as Allegri's side get set to welcome Inter to Turin on Tuesday evening, the question is simple.

Is Sneijder, who enjoyed the greatest season of his career with the Nerazzurri in 2009-10 as they won the treble, the right man for the Bianconeri?

Two Goal writers present opposing views on the Old Lady's potential move for the 30-year-old.

"TRIED AND TESTED TREQUARTISTI ARE HARD TO COME BY"

By Tony Mahoney
How many 100-cap attacking midfielders are there on the market right now? How many of them have not only the experience of playing in Serie A, but of winning it? How many have done so while also spearheading an era-defining Champions League title push?
When you consider the kind of attributes Massimiliano Allegri is looking for in the January transfer window, why wouldn't Juventus look to snap up Wesley Sneijder?
Yes, Sneijder's spells at both Real Madrid and Inter turned sour but largely due to the fact he raised expectations to a far higher level than many considered attainable in the first place.
In Spain, he was a huge hit in his first campaign, taking Bernd Schuster's side to the Spanish title. Two years later, he was the key man in Inter's treble win. That he couldn't match those opening gambits was entirely natural.
He left Inter two years ago as a shadow of himself. Injuries, illness and impending financial meltdown had sucked the life out of his experience at San Siro. It only makes sense that he would jump at the chance to show the Nerazzurri what they mishandled.
At Galatasaray he won a fourth different domestic trophy, and has reached the last 16 and quarter-finals of the Champions League. For a move which many claimed represented an early retirement pay-off, Sneijder has been a huge success.
Juve now find themselves in a position where they need a natural trequartista to suit Allegri's vision for the future.
Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba have all been shuffled around to fill the spot, but none of them were born for the role. Take Vidal or Pogba out of the centre-midfield and you lose some bite. Put Marchisio as a No.10 and you get effort but not ingenuity.
In contrast, the Dutchman is of proven pedigree and is still only 30. While Gala's asking price of €20m is laughable considering the €7.5m fee which took him to Turkey just 24 months ago, anything around the €10-12m mark would mark a great move by the Old Lady.
Tried and tested trequartisti are notable by their absence on the January supermarket conveyor belt. Sneijder is one of a kind.

'SHAQIRI WOULD BE A FAR BETTER OPTION'

By Enis Koylu

Wesley Sneijder may be enjoying something of a renaissance this season in an otherwise average Galatasaray team but the notion that he could bring something to a Juventus side who are already head and shoulders above the rest in Italy - and desperate to make an impact in Europe - is a fallacy.

The Dutchman remains a gifted player and is the undoubted star of not only his own team but the Turkish league as a whole, but his time at the top has come and gone and, at 30, he is entering the final years of a career which has been dogged by fitness issues throughout.

In Juventus' position, where their main shortcoming has been their Champions League performances, is the acquisition of a man whose best years were at Inter under Jose Mourinho really going to change anything?

Sneijder was happy to wind down the years on the banks of the Bosphorus at the age of 28. One doubts whether he is truly up for the fight at a club with pretentions of moving up to the next level. Beyond anything else, his agent has made it clear that Gala would not accept anything less than €20m, an extortionate amount for a player the wrong side of 30.

Xherdan Shaqiri would be a far better option. The Switzerland international has not quite made it at Bayern Munich but is a hungry young player who is desperate to prove himself and has more recent experience of big matches to boot.

The 23-year-old is capable of providing width on either flank, something Juve are sadly missing and his delivery from the wings or set-pieces is another useful weapon. He can also operate from the central attacking role which Massimiliano Allegri wants to implement. Were he to move to Turin, Bayern would be left to rue their decision to let him leave.

Apart from anything else, Shaqiri is seven years younger and they would get far more mileage from signing him than Sneijder.