Why Chelsea's Oscar Would Be a Great Transfer Option for Juventus

Now what? After being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Bayern Munich, Juventus were reminded once again of the gulf that exists between them and the truly great European clubs.

Indeed, while the Bianconeri have shown they can overcome the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Manchester City, their defeat to the Bundesliga giants—and the loss to Barcelona in last season’s final—shows that coach Massimiliano Allegri’s men still need to improve.

Understanding where they can make that leap is difficult, with the defence, midfield and attack all looking individually strong yet failing to compete when faced with the very best teams. Gazzetta dello Sportoffered one interesting hypothesis last week, with the Italian newspaper suggesting Juve may look to sell Paul Pogba and overhaul their squad.

The report (h/t Gazzetta World) linked the French midfielder with a €100 million move away this summer, and that fee could be used to sign the likes of Uruguay international striker Edinson Cavani andHenrikh Mkhitaryan of Borussia Dortmund.

Yet one name that has been constantly linked with a move to Turin is Chelsea playmaker Oscar, and Sportsmediaset (h/t Football Italia) insisted Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici travelled to Stamford Bridge to watch the Brazilian in action against Paris Saint-Germain two weeks ago.

If that was indeed the case, the club official would have been disappointed to see Oscar only introduced as a 77th minute substitute as the English side were eliminated, but it is clear the 24-year-old has many admirers within the Juve management team.

That undoubtedly includes Mr Allegri, who spoke openly of his admiration for the Chelsea man when the club were linked to him last summer, listing him among a number of creative players during an interview with LaRepubblica.

“I would really like a player who can invent a match and is never predictable. I need that wild card within a balanced, structured tactical scheme,” the coach said back in June (h/t ESPN FC). “I like Real Madrid's Isco a lot, and Oscar but I also like two young Italians, Domenico Berardi and Federico Bernardeschi.”

It is relatively simple to understand why Allegri would like theBianconeri to add such a player, particularly to a squad that already boasts the midfield intelligence of Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira.

With the pace of Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado out wide, a creative star like Oscar could well prove to be a superb acquisition, despite failing to match his 2014/15 form during the current campaign.

His 35 appearances in all competitions this term have seen him weigh in with just eight goals and three assists, yet statistics show he has maintained similar numbers across the board elsewhere, averaging 1.1 key passes in league play this season compared to 1.3 last year, courtesy of WhoScored.com.

The same source shows he has connected with 80.6 per cent of his 40.3 passes per game in the Premier League, while he also works hard defensively—as he would be expected to in Serie A—to make an average of 2.2 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game in all competitions.

He also seems to have the ideal mindset for a tactically flexible coach like Allegri, expressing a willingness to do whatever he is asked—an approach that would be essential given the Juve boss’ love of switching between formations.

“I like to play wherever the coach wants me,” Oscar said in a May 2015 interview with Squawka’s Daniel Anwar. “As long as I can play with the ball at my feet and look around, help balance the side and create chances, I am happy. That’s what I’m there to do.”

That, combined with his vision, technical attributes and overall quality, makes Chelsea's Oscar a great transfer option for Juventus as they look to join European football’s elite group of teams.

Did Paul Pogba turn down summer moves for a future at Barcelona?

The transfer window may be closed, but the rumours just keep ticking. As always, Transfer Talk has the latest and greatest. See all the summer deals right here.

TOP STORY: Pogba to Barca still in play

Transfer fans may now be finding out why none of the long-mooted summer moves for Paul Pogba to any number of suitors -- Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, et al -- never materialised. The 22-year-old French starlet may have had his sights set on Barcelona all along.

Mundo Deportivo are reporting that a deal for Pogba to move from Turin to Catalonia has been pre-agreed between the two sides and that legitimate summer offers for Pogba were turned back to honor said gentlemen's agreement between Juve's and Barca's sporting directors Beppe Marotta and Ariedo Braida.

This is certainly not a done deal at the moment by any means. For one thing, Barcelona will have to come up with quite the cash outlay to pay Juventus for Pogba -- Chelsea were said to have bid €85 million. Mundo has predicted initial offers to bring the midfielder to Barca will start around €100m.

Chelsea Transfer News: Paul Pogba, John Stones, Abdul Baba Rahman In? Oscar, Filipe Luis Out?

John Stones has caught the eye during his short career at Everton. Getty Images

While their rivals for the Premier League title continue to make waves in the transfer market this summer, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has stressed that he is keen only to maintain the “balance” in his squad. Manchester United and Manchester City have each made major additions, with Arsenal upgrading their goalkeeping department by prizing Petr Cech away from Stamford Bridge. Last year’s Premier League champions have so far only replaced Cech with former Stoke City stopper Asmir Begovic as well bringing in Radamel Falcao for the departed veteran Didier Drogba.

“If one of our players in a specific position wants to leave, we agree a deal for a player to leave and we have to answer immediately and bring in somebody else, because at the moment we have balance in the squad and we cannot lose that,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s a big challenge for us to go through the season with basically the same team and squad from last season.

Mourinho was, though, happy to state that he is “looking for a defender to finish the balance in our squad.” And he has confirmed that he is determined to make the incoming defender Everton’s John Stones. Chelsea have already had a bid of £20 million rejected for the highly rated 21-year-old England international, with Everton manager Roberto Martinez hitting out at the public pursuit of his starlet. However, Mourinho is adamant that Chelsea have done nothing wrong in their pursuit of the player.

“We made a bid, the bid is there and Everton have the power to accept it or refuse it,” he said. “The transfer window is open, when it is open every club and every player is open to bids. Bids come for our players, we make bids for other players and the process can be so simple.

“If we made a bid it is because we like the player, we don't make bids for players we don't like, but we respect Everton and respect every club that has a player and it is up to them -- everything is in their hands.”

Mourinho’s comments suggest that, contrary to much publication, he won’t be adding a central midfielder to his squad this summer. Several names have been linked to boosting that department of the Chelsea squad, including Juventus’ Paul Pogba. The French star has been cited as a target for several of Europe’s top clubs, notably Barcelona. However, Mourinho hinted that, while he would love to have Pogba in his team, a transfer is not realistic at this stage.

“Pogba is one of the top players in the world,” he said, via The Guardian. Pogba goes to any team and improves that team automatically. If he stays at Juventus, Juventus will be very strong again. If he goes somewhere else he will improve immediately a team. This is not our case. I think everybody has an interest in Pogba. But there are things you can do and things you cannot do. I love the Eiffel Tower but I can’t have the Eiffel Tower in my garden. I can’t even have the Eiffel Tower of Las Vegas.”

Of course, Chelsea’s interest in signing a midfielder could change if one were to leave. Speculation has surrounded the future of the Blues’ Brazilian midfielder Oscar this summer, with Pogba’s club Juventus being strongly linked with a transfer of late. Yet the 23-year-old has insisted that he wants to remain at Stamford Bridge for some time to come.

“Last year I signed a new contract and I want to stay a long time at Chelsea” he said, reports the London Evening Standard. “I have never been unsettled by what was being said.”

One player who is leaving Chelsea, though, is Filipe Luis. The Brazil international only joined from Atlético Madrid last summer, but, after a season in which he failed to dislodge Cesar Azpilicueta as the club’s first-choice left-back, is now heading back to the Spanish club. Reports on the fee suggest it is anywhere between £11 million and the full £16 million Chelsea paid for him a year ago.

Chelsea look set to act quickly the replace Filipe Luis, with The Guardian among the publications reporting that Augsburg’s Abdul Baba Rahman features prominently in their plans. The 21-year-old Ghana international impressed in his first season with Bundesliga club Augsburg last term and is thought to be available for around £17 million.