Juventus to make renewed bid of €7 million for Llorente

Dec 28, 2012 1:30:00 PM

The Old Lady are prepared to redouble their efforts to sign the Spain international, having seen a previous bid of €4m rejected for the target man by the Basque club

EXCLUSIVE
By Romeo Agresti

Juventus are set to make a renewed bid of €7 million for Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, Goal.com can reveal.

The Bianconeri have long been linked with the Spain international as they desperately seek to add a proven goalscorer to their ranks, particularly following the injury to Nicklas Bendtner, and had a previous bid of €4m rejected by the Basque club.

Although the forward's contract is set to expire next summer, director Guiseppe Marotta is keen to bring him to Turin sooner rather than later, and will attempt to prise the 27-year-old away from San Mames with a fresh €7m bid.

While Marotta is confident that such an offer would be enough to sign the player in January, he believes that if the latest bid is unsuccessful, then, Llorente will still join the Serie A leaders on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season. Such an agreement could be reached in February.

Juventus have been linked with a host of strikers in recent months as they seek to bolster their forward line. As Goal.com exclusively revealed earlier this month, Antonio Conte's men contacted Borussia Dortmund over the availability of Robert Lewandowski, while rumours linking them with a move for Didier Drogba still linger despite the club ruling out a bid .

The Scudetto champions are also considering the prospect of recalling Manolo Gabbiadini from his loan spell with Bologna, although Conte is thought to be keen for the 21-year-old to continue his development away from Turin.