Marco Verratti is one of football’s best midfielders. Combining tenacity with superb technique, the Italian has flourished at the domestically dominant Paris Saint Germain. Their European frustrations piqued this year, however.
After destroying Barcelona at home, their second leg humiliation only furthered the critical voices and perhaps will have turned the heads of their stars like Verratti.
There is no doubt that Verratti could cope with a change of scenery. He has the skillset and intrinsic talent that would make him a standout player in almost any team in the world, with perhaps Bayern Munich and Real Madrid the only exceptions. When it comes to any potential move this summer, Bayern are not even in contention and Madrid are unsurprisingly way out at 17/1.
The rumour mill has Barcelona has the only real destination for Verratti. Just the week, in fact, it was reported in Spain that Verratti met with Lionel Messi for dinner in Ibiza. His desire to move to the Catalan giants is clear, as is Barcelona’s determination to sign him, but Paris naturally are extremely reluctant to allow a club icon to leave. Letting the Italian depart would be a public admittance that they are not on the same level.
Should Verratti leave the French capital this summer, the market suggests it will be the Catalonia. His odds to remain with Adrien Rabiot and Blaise Matuidi are 33/100, while a move south to join Andres Iniesta and Messi is at 6/4. A tempting price, perhaps, but it’s tough to envisage Paris letting a player so synonymous with the club leave.
Next up are Chelsea at 14/1 and Juventus at 15/1. With the Blues apparently set on signing Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco, it’s a surprise that the Turin club are so far out. Their midfield is strong, but with Claudio Marchisio ageing, Sami Khedira prone to injury and Paul Pogba having left the club last summer, there must be a chance they move for Verratti as their marquee man this offseason.
A move elsewhere is almost impossible. The financial burden of a deal would be too much for the majority of clubs and the two that spring to mind to spend such cash – the two Manchester clubs – have no space for the Italian.
It’s probably Barcelona or Paris for Verratti in 2017/18, but a few pennies on a move to Juventus would not be the worst bet of the summer.
