Piccioli in London
Juventus have sent an Italian agent, Marco Piccioli, to London to negotiate the possible signing of the West Ham midfielder Javier Mascherano. Piccioli will try to agree with Kia Joorabchian, the businessman who controls Mascherano's playing rights, a deal that would see the Argentina international move to the Italian club at the end of the season.
Juventus hope to be back in Serie A by then, having been demoted last summer after a match-fixing scandal, and their coach, Didier Deschamps, has described Mascherano as the "perfect identikit of the player that Juventus need".
They are reportedly ready to offer £6m for Mascherano, who has failed to adapt to English football after moving in August from the Brazilian club Corinthians. He has played only seven games for West Ham and has appeared only once for the club - as a substitute - since October 22.
West Ham have not been informed of the negotiations between Piccioli and Joorabchian but a boardroom source confirmed yesterday that Mascherano would remain at Upton Park for the remainder of this campaign. Following discussions with Fifa West Ham know that the 22-year-old cannot turn out for any other team before July 2007 because regulations prevent him from playing for more than two clubs in the preceding 12 months.
Guardian