Serbian midfielder Nenad Kovacevic

Juve consider Kovacevic
Monday 11 August, 2008

Juventus are being linked to Serbian midfielder Nenad Kovacevic as they face a midfield injury crisis.

The Old Lady seemed to have completed their shopping for the summer, but they may be forced to reassess after an unlucky week.

With Cristiano Zanetti and Marco Marchionni both facing around a month out of action, the Bianconeri are looking a little short of options in the middle of the pitch.

Jose Mourinho has emphatically closed the door on a possible move for Inter’s Dejan Stankovic, who was in Claudio Ranieri’s sights.

And while Tuttosport insist that the Turin giants will turn their attentions back to Roma ace Alberto Aquilani, a more realistic target has also been suggested.

Lens midfielder Kovacevic has 25 international caps to his name and is a reliable midfielder with leadership qualities.

The 27-year-old would be able to provide the kind of cover that Ranieri needs and would be relatively cheap.

Sources suggest that Juve would only need to find £5m to persuade Lens to let Kovacevic go and his wages of £500,000 per year would be easily affordable.

However, German side Hamburg are also known to be following Kovacevic closely and could compete for his signature.

* chn4