BUDDIES GO FOR THE ITALIAN JOB
SAINTS TARGET JUVENTUS ACE
St Mirren have launched an audacious bid to land Juventus midfielder Stefano Beltrame on a season-long loan.
Saints boss Alan Stubbs is desperate to bolster the squad and has been searching high and low to unearth new signings.
Italian attacking midfielder Beltrame, 25, is highly- regarded by the Turin side and any potential move has only been held up by his involvement with the first team at this summer’s International Champions Cup in New Jersey.
Beltrame was an unused substitute against Real Madrid on Sunday but turned out as a substitute against Bayern Munich and Benfica earlier in the competition.
He has been with the Serie A giants since 2011 and also featured on the national scene for Italy U18s, U19s and U20s.
Juventus forked out €750,000 to sign him in a co- ownership deal with Novara before purchasing him outright in 2013 for an additional €750,000.
He then made his debut under Antonio Conte the same year, coming on as a second- half substitute in a 1-1 draw with Genoa.
A lack of first-team opportunities led to a number of loan spells in his native Italy as well as The Netherlands.
Successful spells at Bari and Modena were followed by a stint at FC Den Bosch. He then joined Go Ahead Eagles last season, where he made 32 appearances and scored five goals for the Eerste Divisie side.
Talks are ongoing between the two parties but Saints hope to wrap up a deal at some point this week.
The Buddies are also on the verge of a loan deal for Birmingham City striker Nicolai Brock-Madsen which could be wrapped up as early as today as Stubbs looks to add to his squad ahead of Sunday afternoon’s clash with Rangers.
The imminent departure of striker Ross Stewart to Ross County has seen Stubbs reignite his interest in the 6ft3 Danish target man.
Birmingham forked out £500,000 to land the Dane from Rangers three years ago but he has often struggled for game time with the St Andrew’s side.
He has previously had loan spells with Dutch side PEC Zwolle and Polish outfit Cracovia after falling out of favour.
Blues boss Gary Monk has deemed the forward surplus to requirements, with Saints now in pole position to bring him in.