Serie A: Juventus determined to sign Axel Witsel in January

Italian champions Juventus have been trying to sign Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel all summer, but the deal didn't go through before the transfer deadline. They will have another opportunity in January as Witsel's contract with Zenit St Petersburg runs out at the end of the season and the midfielder doesn't seem willing to extend it. Juventus would be ready to pay 6 million euros to bring the player to Italy in January, but if they won't be able to reach an agreement with Zenit they are ready to wait until the summer, when they can sign the player for free. It seems Juventus have already agreed terms with Witsel, who would move to Turin on a five-year contract worth 4.5 million euros per annum. The Bianconeri are looking for a central midfielder and they have another couple of names on their list: Nemanja Matic from Chelsea and Blaise Matuidi from Paris Saint-Germain. The Italian champions have sold star midfielder Paul Pogba this summer and they need to add more quality and depth to their central midfield, even though the likes of Miralem Pjanic and Sami Khedira have been doing a solid job so far. Axel Witsel, aged 27, has been playing in Russia for Zenit St Petersburg since 2012, when he moved from Benfica. Before that, he only played for his boyhood club, Standard Liege. He has made 114 league appearances and scored 16 goals at Zenit. He has made his debut in the Belgium national team at the age of 19, since then he earned 71 caps and scored 7 goals. He has won the Russian Premier League with Zenit and also the Belgian league on two occasions with Standard. Juventus are 2/9 at Bet365 to win the Serie A title once again this season. Source: "Juventus, 6 milioni per Witsel", La Gazzetta dello Sport, October 10, 2016