Liverpool & Juventus Linked With World Cup Winning Midfielder. Transfer Scouting Report.

Juventus’ recent success has been built around one man. Andrea Pirlo has been the puppeteer behind the Turin side’s back to back Scudettos, pulling the strings from his deep midfield role. Despite coming to the end of his career, the 34-year-old made 32 Serie A appearances last-term with an additional 13 appearances in other competitions and surpassed every other player in the famous black and white shirts in terms of Squawka Performance Score. 

But with his legs aging and rumours gathering that the Italian maestro is on his way out of the club, Antonio Conte could have the unwanted job of replacing him. That’s where Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso comes in, according to The Express. Reports also suggest that Liverpool are interested in the Madrid man.

Juventus Top Performance Scorers Last Season

With Alonso's contract expiring in the summer Los Blancos are starting to sweat about losing the Spaniard on a free, so a reported £5m switch to Italy may appease the Madrid board who already have a handful of options competing for a slot in the middle of the pitch.

Sami Khedira, who has made four appearances in Carlo Ancelotti's first five La Liga games, Luka Modric and new signing Asier Illarramendi are all more than capable of filling the deep berths, so whether Alonso can dislodge them when he returns from his metatarsal injury is up for debate.

Xabi Alonso Heat Map v Malaga (Last Season)

Alonso, who is often found floating just in front of the backline, made 28 La Liga appearances last season under Jose Mourinho. His lack of pace is more than made up for by the speed in which his footballing mind works - the Spaniard often floats balls forward before the opposition are able to settle. The 20m average of his passes was the highest of all his midfield counterparts last season in the Madrid side.

Xabi Alonso Average Pass Length

The Spaniard's range of distribution has always been his main asset, as well as the composure he offers, and his ball retention perhaps takes a hit because of his ambition on the ball. Although 83% of his passes were successful last-term, it was bettered by the majority of first-team players in the squad.

The swiftness of his passes, however, caused a major problem to the opposition on numerous occasions. Alonso finished fourth in the side in terms of key passes last season, with only Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo and Modric completing more than his 48.

Real Madrid Top Chance Creators Last Season

Alonso is three years younger than Pirlo and could prove a steal at £5m, especially with Juventus' preference to deploy a regista behind Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal. His duel success (63%) bettered Pirlo's last season (57%), winning 70/89 of his tackles and 83% of his take ons, and he would add a bit of protection in front of Juve's three man defence should Pirlo depart.

Of the two, Alonso is certainly a lot more defence-minded than the Italy international - who created 95 chances last season - but his pivotal role could release the creative shackles of Pogba and Vidal even further.
The reported £5m fee is a pittance for a player so established in the game, and if there was even a slight hint of interest from Alonso then you'd expect Conte to be sweet talking the Spain international in the New Year.