Domenico Berardi is one Sassuolo player we expect to return to Serie A next season after their relegation from the top flight.
The attacker has been their most important player for several seasons, which explains why they were relegated when he got injured.
Juventus has followed him for several campaigns and was close to signing him at the start of last season.
However, the move broke down after the Bianconeri stepped up their interest late in the transfer window.
Berardi has been in fantastic form in the league for several seasons and is expected to leave the Black and Greens in the coming weeks.
However, Juve now faces competition for his signature, with a report on Tuttomercatoweb claiming AS Roma and AC Milan are also keen on signing him.
Both teams like his profile and have been monitoring him as he played for Sassuolo in Serie A.
Juve FC Says
Berardi has been one of the most productive attackers in Italian football for several seasons and he would add more goals and assists to our game if we sign him.
However, he will be 30 in August, which does not represent good long-term value. We also do not know if he will remain the same player after his injury.
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As of the first Monday of August, there was no indication that 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel or 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders had any real chance to emerge as the Cleveland Browns' Week 1 starting quarterback. During a Monday morning appearance on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan, Browns reporter Daryl Ruiter offered quite a worrisome update regarding how Gabriel has looked during training camp practices. "He's not good," Ruiter said about Gabriel. "He's not an NFL quarterback. Not right now, and the fact that they keep running him out there for first-team reps...they're cramming this guy down our throats, and it's not good." Numerous NFL analysts viewed Gabriel as a third-day selection before the Browns made him the 94th overall pick of this year's draft. The perception up until Sanders was held out of Saturday's practice due to arm soreness was that he has been the team's fourth-choice option at the position behind Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. All signs are reportedly pointing to Flacco getting the start for Cleveland's Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. Gabriel is listed at 5-foot-11, but some who cover the team have expressed doubts about that measurement. It seems that a lack of desirable size for playing the position in the pros isn't all that's gone against Gabriel this summer. "It's not a height thing," Ruiter continued. "It's not personal. He's rolling out and can't hit guys who are wide open. He's not all that great, at times, in the warmup periods. ...He's just not a good quarterback." Ruiter said that he feels Gabriel "has no business being in contention to start a football game" for the Browns this season. "It's god awful when he's on the field," Ruiter added. Browns general manager Andrew Berry revealed in late July that he could stash all four active quarterbacks on the roster for at least Week 1. For an article published on Sunday night, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand wrote that there's "zero chance" either Gabriel or Sanders will be cut this summer. Perhaps Gabriel will look better when he sees some action in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8. That said, it sounds like fans should keep their expectations low for Gabriel's unofficial debut this coming Friday.
Starting pitcher Nestor Cortes was the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Brewers‘ return haul from trading co-closer Devin Williams to the Yankees last December. Eight months later, Cortes is a member of the Padres, logging all of two starts in Milwaukee before injuries sapped his season. Over in New York, Williams lost his closer’s job, got it back, and has had one good month en route to a 5.04 ERA. Without the other part of Milwaukee’s incoming package, then minor-league third baseman Caleb Durbin, the trade would look at this juncture like a lose-lose scenario. Thanks to Durbin, it’s been anything but for the Brewers. Caleb Durbin is Milwaukee Brewers’ diamond in the rough Durbin didn’t make the spring training cut. Instead, the Brewers went with fellow rookie Oliver Dunn as the team’s starting third baseman. Durbin went down to Triple-A Nashville. Dunn didn’t last. After he struggled through the first three weeks of the season, he and Durbin switched places and the latter hasn’t squandered his shot. Following a slow start, he’s turned up the heat at the dish while playing outstanding defense. He’s had an OPS around .800 for over two months now and has his season slashline up to .263/.344/.372. His 2.2 WAR in 86 games played is tied for 10th among all third basemen, making him one of the position’s more valuable players. The Brewers saw plenty of promise in Durbin when they traded for him, coming off a strong season with New York’s Triple-A affiliate. Even though he didn’t, he was a decent candidate to make the team out of spring. The team likely didn’t see a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate, which he is. By WAR, he and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin have contributed the same value to their teams, more than any other NL rookies. Cortes, on the other hand, was supposed to be a consistent cog in the rotation. Last year for the Yankees, he made 30 starts and recorded a 3.77 ERA. Instead, he’s still making his way back from injury ahead of start number three this season. In San Diego. Of course, Milwaukee did turn him into outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who will provide depth while Jackson Chourio is hurt. To dump Cortes’ salary, however, they had to attach a prospect, infielder Jorge Quintana. Neither Cortes nor Williams has been what the receiving team hoped. Both will be free agents this offseason. Only the Yankees, however, are at risk of walking away empty-handed. With years of team control remaining, the Brewers have in Durbin what looks to be their third baseman of both the present and future. The trade didn’t deliver according to expectations, but it’s hard to be too upset with the results.
LeBron James wasn't present at Luka Doncic's contract extension news conference. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, and he's more than entitled to some time off the clock just like everybody else. However, given all that has been said about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers, it didn't take long before people speculated whether there was something else going on. The Athletic's Dan Woike reports that there's nothing to it. "James has not asked for a trade or a contract buyout, team and league sources have said. He’ll turn 41 on Dec. 30," wrote Woike. James' agent and friend, Rich Paul, also made it loud and clear that he hasn't even talked about potentially leaving the Lakers, and while he still doesn't know if he'll re-sign with them or will continue to play beyond this season, that's a bridge they'll cross when they get there. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka also shut down rumors by pointing out that he's been in constant talks with James and his camp. “Yeah, so all the interactions we’ve had with LeBron and his camp, Rich (Paul) in particular, have been positive and supportive. So very professional and Rich has been great,” Pelinka said. “The dialogue with him has been open and constant.” The Lakers are doing the right thing by pivoting towards their younger star. Whether this will be the end of the line for James in Southern California remains to be seen.
The Bears phased out of the early portion of training camp with a Halas Hall practice Monday, closed even to media. The early days are behind them as they gear up for the first preseason game Sunday with Miami at Soldier Field. After OTAs and two weeks of training camp, there were few real surprises, and those who can be classified in this way actually flashed some of it in the offseason work. Others didn't. Here are the surprises from the first section of Bears training camp. RB Kyle Monangai They badly wanted their seventh-round pick to succeed at contributing because of their inability to draft someone earlier. So far, so good. There are occasional glitches, like when he went the wrong way on a play in Sunday's scrimmage at Soldier Field. His ability to help as a receiver has been an obvious surprise because he never did a lot of it in college. However, he got to show some of his toughness as a runner in goal-line work and in full-contact play the past week. "I am very pleased with where he's at," coach Ben Johnson said. "I think he's a guy that we're going to be able to trust this fall." Johnson said "think," not that he can be trusted. There's still a way to go before that status is earned. WR J.P. Richardson The undrafted TCU receiver caught passes in OTAs and it was easy to notice. When it continued at an even greater rate in training camp, it caught everyone's attention. The unexpected part of Richardson's play has been his versatility. Everyone knew he would be a slot type receiver who would make his run at a roster spot as a possession guy. However, Richardson catches passes all over the field. He doesn't just catch it, he finds ways to be open and then runs after the catch. Richardson disappointed Johnson with one down practice last week after he had been so impressive. "That happened, but he bounces right back, just like the rest of these guys," Johnson said. CB Nashon Wright It seemed a bit too convenient when they had suddenly discovered Nick McCloud could play cornerback after a practice when they decided to put Tyrique Stevenson with backups, continued using Terell Smith with backups and rookie Zah Frazier was still away for personal reasons. It just seemed as if it suited coaching motivational purposes to punish Stevenson for some reason. McCloud has been beaten, though not as often as backup Shaun Wade. But Wright definitely has been there all along, practicing well and using his long arms and height against starting receivers at Jaylon Johnson's position. Johnson won't return until possibly the regular season. "You know, not many 6-4, 6-5 corners out there with his capabilities and his suddenness and agilities so it’s been a challenge going against him every "single day," Rome Odunze said. LB Noah Sewell The strong side linebacker spot isn't spotlighted much, but Sewell has begun to flash once more physicality was introduced with pads. He had some standout plays in Sunday's practice after being limited almost solely to special teams his first two seasons. "Physicality wise, he jumps off the tape at all times," linebacker T.J. Edwards said. "Any type of lead, you know, stretch, run to Noah Sewell, you (know) what's getting turned back because that's kind of what he does." Sewell also got to flash his blitz ability Sunday when he burned D'Andre Swift's attempt to pick him up and forced Caleb Williams to throw it away. "In terms of his pass rush capabilities and things like that, he's got a good guy to practice with in the off season with his brother (Lions tackl Penei Sewell)," Edwards said. Sewell had a reputation for being able to rush the passer in college but hadn't shown it yet. "He’s another guy who has kind of been doing a whole different bunch of roles and things like that, and he’s taking it in, he's performing, man," Edwards added. "He looks really good for sure.” T Kiran Amegadjie Now it appears all of his efforts went for naught because his ability to compete with Ozzy Trapilo and Braxton Jones for starting left tackle is halted by injury, but it couldn't hide how much he had improved over 2024. He's going to need to adjust to battling back from injury and then make up for lost ground. Amegadjie shouldn't be counted out just yet because he considers focusing on the situation at hand to be a strength. "I've always kind of prided myself on that, whatever the situation was, whether it was in college or coming out last year, I tried to do my best to just control what I can control," Amegadjie said. "That's all you can do. When you start to worry about outside factors, that's when you get astray a little bit."
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