Juventus sporting director Giovanni Manna “will fly to London next week” to hold discussions with West Ham about Denis Zakaria, according to Tuttosport.

The Italian newspaper claims talks between intermediaries have already taken place and Juve are said to be confident that a deal can be agreed.

Zakaria’s asking price is between €18m (£15.5m) and €20m (£17m), but it is felt that the two teams are not too far apart on the midfielder’s valuation.

The Swiss international is deemed surplus to requirements by his current club, having spent last season out on loan at Chelsea.

Juventus are believed to be keen on selling Zakaria as quickly as possible so they can raise the funds necessary to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, so you would expect that this transfer could be wrapped up pretty quickly after the meeting between Hammers officials and Manna takes place.

Zakaria has had his fair share of injury problems

Since picking up an ACL injury for Borussia Monchengladbach at the start of 2020, Zakaria has struggled to stay available for extended periods.

In his first campaign with Juve, he tore his abductor muscle and was also sidelined with a thigh injury. During his spell with Chelsea, he spent four weeks on the treatment table with a hamstring problem. He was, however, fit for the final three months of last season.

West Ham are targeting other midfielders

In addition to Zakaria, the Irons have also been linked with the likes of Ajax’s Edson Alvarez, Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, Everton’s Amadou Onana, Fulham’s Joao Palhinha and Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips.

While manager David Moyes is very unlikely to sanction deals for all of these players, it seems as if the London club will replace Declan Rice with more than one midfielder. From the looks of things, though, Zakaria could be the first one in through the door.