Juventus are being tipped by sections of the Italian press to sign either Christian Ledesma or Stephen Appiah before the end of this week.

The Bianconeri are reasonably well covered in the centre of midfield, and hadn’t been expected to further strengthen this area before the end of the transfer window.

However, a couple of recent injury concerns regarding Claudio Marchisio and Cristiano Zanetti, as well as the attempted sale of disastrous flop Tiago Mendes, has led them to reconsider.

According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus will look to return to the market once they have booked their place in the group stages of the Champions League tonight. Leading 4-0 from the first leg of their preliminary tie against Artmedia, they will receive an €8m bonus if they complete the formality.

The Italian press believes that either Ledesma or Appiah will make the move to Turin. Ledesma’s future at Lazio is in huge doubt following a contract dispute, and he has recently announced that it is inevitable he will leave, possibly by executing FIFA’s Article 17 next summer, which would mean he could exit for a minimal fee.

Thus, it is looking more than likely that the Romans will cash in on him before the end of this week.

Appiah, meanwhile, is available on a free transfer after he last week negotiated an exit from Turkish club Fenerbahce, who he has represented for the last three years.

The Ghanian played for Juventus between 2003 and 2005 before joining the Turks for €8 million, and he has been heavily linked with a return over the past week.

Last week the 27-year-old admitted that he dreamed of a return to his old club, stating: “Coming back to Juve would be a dream for me and I am sure I can give them more compared to my first experiences there.”

Ref From Gianni Wilson – goal.com