Italian Serie A champions Juventus FC reportedly turned down a £25.5 million bid from English Premier League club Everton FC for their young defender Daniele Rugani.
Juve first acquired Rugani, who is set to turn 22 on July 29, during his youth days in 2012 from fellow Serie A squad Empoli on loan. He became a regular starter for the Old Lady’s youth squad during the 2012-2013 season and was a key player in their conquest of the Coppa Italia Primavera.
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The Turin giants bought him permanently at the end of the term and then sent back on loan to Empoli to begin his senior career during the summer of 2013.
He then went back to Juventus before the start of the 2015-2016 season, playing his first senior game with the club in September of last year, coming off as a substitute in a 2-0 home victory versus Sevilla.
Rugani had appeared in 17 games for head coach Massimiliano Allegri last term as he continues to be a long-term project for the club.
Sun Sport indicated that the Italian top flight winners “turned down the offer” from the Toffees “as they are unwilling to sell the defender this summer”.
Everton’s English top flight rivals Arsenal and Juve’s top Serie A opponent Napoli also made offers for the 6-foot-3 center back, but both bids were also rejected by Le Zebre.
Meanwhile, Caught Offside reported that the Toffees had “struggled defensively” during the last term as they allowed opponents to pierce their net 55 times, which is the sixth most in the English first division competitions last season.
Everton finished 11th in the overall standings, 10 points above the relegation zone but a long 19 points below the fourth and final UEFA Champions League qualifying berth for the coming season.
New boss Ronald Koeman is rumored to be keen on snagging young players this summer as he wants to develop them for the future of the Goodison Park residents and Rugani is just one of several targets for the former Southampton manager.
Rugani won the 2014 Serie B Footballer of the Year award in 2014 while he was still with Empoli. He was also included in the Serie A Team of the Year for the 2014-2015 season, prior to his move back to Turin.
