The probable Italian coach of Olympique de Marseille sent several requests to Pablo Longoria. And in particular the signing of Manuel Locatelli, the midfielder of Juventus and Italy.
The president of OM knew this, by contacting Roberto de Zerbi to offer him the position of coach of Olympique de Marseille, he knew that the latter would not come to manage a squad for which he would not have had his word to say. The former Brighton manager knows the players he needs, and according to the Italian press, and more precisely the Gazzetta dello SportDe Zerbi asked Pablo Longoria to enter into dialogue with Juventus to find out the transfer conditions of Manuel Locatelli. Aged 26, the Italian international extended his contract with the Old Lady this winter, and he is now linked until 2028 with the Turin club. However, since this extension, Juventus has changed coach, Thiago Motta succeeding Massimiliano Allegri, and the new Bianconeri technician intends to densify this sector of play, the imminent signing of Douglas Luiz confirms this.
OM knows how to be smart in the transfer window
To afford Manuel Locatelli, Olympique de Marseille will have to pay around 30 million euros, which is obviously a colossal sum for a club supposed to make salary efforts during this transfer window. But Pablo Longoria has never been the type to start out beaten in negotiations, especially since many OM players are clearly on the transfer market. Even if the signing of the one who was not selected by Italy for Euro 2024 would be a very big blow, you should never swear about anything when it comes to Olympique de Marseille. However, Roberto de Zerbi must already sign his contract with the Marseille club before seeing this option possibly activated, because although for 10 days the Italian technician has been announced as close to OM, he has not yet signed anything.
