After missing out on Edin Dzeko and Giuseppe Pazzini one after another, the Italian sports news website 'Lento' reported that Alberto Gilardino has become Juventus' "sole and true" target. Currently, Gilardino's contract with Fiorentina expires in 2013. Due to Fiorentina's less-than-ideal performance record, Gilardino is considering leaving the team. Previously, Gilardino had expressed his intention to reconsider his future in the summer. This presents an opportunity for Juventus to poach him. However, Fiorentina has a history of not selling players cheaply to their competitors. In 2009, it cost Juventus €25 million to sign Felipe Melo. 'Lento' believes that Gilardino's value this summer will not be less than €15 million. Amauri, who frequently finds himself in a scoring drought while playing for Juventus, might become a bargaining chip in transfer negotiations. Since Beppe Marotta decided to conclude winter transfer activities, Juventus can only wait until the summer to strengthen its forward line. On January 27, 'Lento' mentioned Gilardino's name. In fact, Juventus originally intended to sign Pazzini and Dzeko. However, due to financial issues regarding transfers, Juventus missed out on signing Dzeko last summer, and the player has since joined Manchester City. Pazzini was also a target of Marotta's. However, due to both Del Neri and Marotta's absence, Sampdoria chairman Riccardo Garrone was unwilling to sell Pazzini to Juventus. Currently, Inter Milan is in pursuit of Pazzini. On January 27, Garrone arrived in Milan. 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' revealed that Inter Milan's pursuit of Pazzini has entered its final stages.
After successively bringing Mario Balotelli and Andrea Barzagli into the fold, Juventus sporting director Marotta announced that the club had closed its winter transfer market early. However, the young Mario Balotelli alone is insufficient to solve Juventus' offensive woes. On January 27, 'Lento' reported that Juventus intends to sign Gilardino in the summer. Considering competitive club relations, the difficulty of Gilardino's transfer is significant.
Marotta's premature announcement of the closure of Juventus' winter transfer market indicates that the signings of Barzagli and Balotelli do not fully meet Del Neri's needs. Currently, Fabio Quagliarella's season has been prematurely ended, and veteran forwards such as Antonio Di Natale, Amauri, and Alessandro Del Piero are constantly plagued by injuries. Del Neri needs a reliable striker. The 33-year-old Balotelli is clearly not a qualified choice. Due to his advanced age and increased injuries, he is currently still recovering from injury. Regarding Juventus' recruitment efforts, Del Neri is somewhat dissatisfied. During a pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Roma, Del Neri complained, "Previously, newspapers always said that Juventus would sign someone, but the new signings are far from comparable to the players mentioned in the newspapers."