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According to Jeff Rueter of FiftyFiveOne, Juventus defender Paolo De Ceglie is weighing a move stateside to join an MLS club.
BREAKING: Juventus defender Paolo De Ceglie looking at #MLS move. #MNUFC is on his shortlist of destinations. #Juve https://t.co/alnk0FoXfR
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) March 10, 2017
De Ceglie’s agent, Mario de Rossi, spoke to FiftyFiveOne and confirmed that the left back is ready to move on from Juventus and is looking at MLS as a potential landing spot. The Italian left back has kept in touch with former Juventus players that are currently playing in MLS, Sebastian Giovinco and Andrea Pirlo, and has followed the league closely and feels that the league compliments his playing style.
De Rossi reiterated that his client is still in the early days of trying to find a club but one potential destination that is being looked at is Minnesota United. De Rossi mentioned the club specifically as a team that is on De Ceglie’s shortlist, and the Loons could surely use an upgrade at left full back. Minnesota United have just one left back on the roster as it currently stands, which is Justin Davis, who is a holdover from the NASL team.
De Ceglie would be a fantastic signing for the Loons, seeing that he has a wealth of experience playing in Italy and France, which are two of the highest caliber leagues in the world. The 30-year-old has made 100 appearances with Juventus and went on loan to Siena, Genoa, Parma, and Marseille. His contract is set to expire at the end of June.
At this point, the Loons would need an additional international player slot in order to sign De Ceglie but that seems like a small price to pay for a highly-skilled player with an extensive European resume.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated with any further developments about this potential blockbuster signing.