Arsenal and Spurs face Italian battle for Connor Wickham and Phil Jones

Posted Friday, May 06, 2011 by Metro.co.uk

Juventus are planning to scupper Premier League big shots by swooping in for two of England’s hottest young prospects – Connor Wickham and Phil Jones.

Arsenal and Spurs face Italian battle for Connor Wickham and Phil Jones
Italian job: Juventus have taken a shine to Ipswich youngster Connor Wickham (Action Images)

Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea have been carefully monitoring the progress of Ipswich striker Wickham, and Blackburn defender Jones, but it’s Juve who are gearing up to make the first move in the summer transfer scramble.

According to Italian sources, Juve sent a crack spy team, including general manager Beppe Marotta and technical director Fabio Guild, on an intensive scouting mission of England, who reported back with glowing references about the young pair.

Now the fallen Serie A giants are debating putting their faith in the highly-rated Englishmen for next season, as they attempt to revive their flagging squad who are struggling to qualify for Europe.

Any move would represent a massive leap into the future for Juventus, and Italian sides in general, who rarely dip into the British talent pool for players.

But such has been the impact of Wickham and Jones, European powerhouses have had to sit up and take notice, and now Juventus are said to be considering a life-changing offer for the Under-21 internationals.