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The 29-year-old Montenegro international is on the verge of reuniting with his former boss Rudi Garcia and is now just waiting for Lille to green-light the move

EXCLUSIVE

by Vittorio Campanile

Roma are ready to make their first major move of the summer transfer window with a swoop for Lille defender Marko Basa.

Coach Rudi Garcia is keen to bolster his defensive options ahead of the new season and has identified the Montenegro defender as his top priority.

Garcia led the Giallorossi to a second-place finish in Serie A last term, securing the return of Champions League football to the capital.

He has now told club officials he wants suitable alternatives in every position in order to deal with the demands of an increased fixture calendar, with 29-year-old Basa, who played under Garcia at Lille and Le Mans, a top priority.

The 50-year-old coach has spoken to the defender a number of times in an attempt to convince the former Lokomotiv Moscow stopper to join him in Rome. However, it is believed he would not be brought in as a direct replacement for Mehdi Benatia, who has been linked with a move to a number of clubs including Manchester City and Manchester United.

Current Lille coach Rene Girard is keen to keep his man but Basa has decided he would rather continue his career in Italy. 

Roma are ready to pay around €3 million [£2.4m] for his services, but he will only be allowed to leave the club should Girard give the move his blessing.

Basa would be Roma’s second signing of the summer after the arrival of Seydou Keita on a free transfer from Valencia.

The midfielder is confident the Serie A champions can continue to dominate domestically for several more years

Claudio Marchisio believes Juventus' dominance of Serie A is by no means nearing its conclusion and has set his sights on winning more silverware in the years to come.

Antonio Conte's men were crowned Italian champions for the third year in succession this season, but teams such as Roma and Napoli are desperate to close the gap with their rivals and end Juve's hegemony.

Nevertheless, Marchisio is confident that the Old Lady can continue to dominate Serie A for the foreseeable future.

"Juventus' cycle is not over. The last game of the season said it all. It was not just about reaching 100 points for us, but also about not conceding a goal to cap another strong year defensively," Marchisio told Tuttosport.

"This just goes to show that we still want to grow and improve and you cannot speak about the end of a cycle in these circumstances.

"Some people are already speaking about how next season will be difficult for us, but each season has been hard. 

"At the beginning of the season, it did not look like it was going to be this easy, but in the end everybody had to admit that Juventus were the strongest. It's only normal that we won Serie A and we will try and repeat it once more next term."

Marchisio scored four goals in 29 Serie A appearances in 2013-14.

Inter Milan are hoping to complete the signing of English winger Tom Ince by the end of this week.

The 22-year-old, whose contract with Blackpool expires this month, has an offer to join the Nerazzurri outfit.

Ince arrived in Milan on Sunday with his father Paul, who played two seasons at Inter almost two decades ago, to discuss a possible move to the San Siro outfit.

When asked if the deal had been completed, Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio said on the club's official website: "It's still early.

"The player came to Milan because he wanted to have a look at everything for himself.

"We made the most of the weekend that he decided to spend in Milan with his family.

"We've laid some foundations, now we'll see if we're able to close the deal over the coming days."

Ince spent the second half of this season on loan at Crystal Palace and is also a reported target of Monaco and Everton.

Inter would only have to pay a nominal compensation fee to Blackpool for Ince.

Should they fail to lure Ince to Milan, the Italian media claim the Nerazzurri would then make an approach for Tottenham winger Erik Lamela.

Lamela moved to the London outfit last summer from Roma in a £30million transfer deal but has failed to impress in his first season in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old made only three league starts and missed the second half of the campaign through injury.

When asked about Lamela, Ausilio said: "I don't usually name names, we have a lot of work to do."

Since January, Osvaldo has been on loan at Juventus, helping the Turin side to the Serie A title, having been exiled from Southampton for being involved in a series of disciplinary issues, the last of which was a training ground brawl with teammate Jose Fonte.

The 28-year-old, who has scored five goals in all competitions this season, only joined Southampton in August 2013, becoming their record signing when signed from Roma.

Juventus have the option of making the loan deal permanent this summer for a fee of £15.6m, but are reportedly unlikely to take up that option due to some disappointing performances for the club, managing just 325 minutes of action in Serie A.

And with Osvaldo set to move on, Valencia have emerged as the leading contenders for his signing, but they may need Southampton to lower their asking price for any permanent deal to take place. If not, they may have to be content with a season-long loan, having initially targeted the Italian international in January.

Uncapped striker Ciro Immobile earned a call-up to face Spain in Madrid on Wednesday, with Mario Balotelli absent due to a shoulder injury

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has dumped Daniele De Rossi from his squad after the Roma midfielder's punch on Inter's Mauro Icardi.

Prandelli announced his selection to face Spain in Madrid on Wednesday and De Rossi was the most notable omission after he was caught on camera punching Icardi in the face during Roma's draw with Inter on Saturday.

Pablo Osvaldo and Mario Balotelli have previously been left out by Prandelli for misdemeanours at club level and while De Rossi avoided sanction during Saturday's match, his punch has become a hot topic in Italy.

It was better news for De Rossi's club team-mate Mattia Destro, who earned international recognition after hitting the back of the net six times in 11 Serie A games since returning from a knee injury.

Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin and AC Milan defender Mattia De Sciglio also secured recalls to the squad.

Two uncapped players were included by Prandelli - Parma defender Gabriel Paletta and Torino forward Ciro Immobile - while Mario Balotelli (shoulder) is unavailable.

Full Italy squad to face Spain:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Mattia Perin (Genoa), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain)

Defenders: Ignazio Abate (Milan), Davide Astori (Cagliari), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Zenit St Petersburg), Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gabriel Paletta (Parma)

Midfielders: Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Emanuele Giaccherini (Sunderland), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (AC Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Parolo (Parma), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Marco Verratti (Paris St Germain)

Forwards: Alessio Cerci (Torino), Mattia Destro (Roma), Alberto Gilardino (Genoa), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Gonzalo Insigne (Napoli), Pablo Osvaldo (Juventus)

Torino would love to put a dent in cross-town rivals Juventus' title hopes, in the most exciting fixture of Serie A's round 25.

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It would take a collapse of mammoth proportions for Juventus to throw away their nine-point lead at the top of Serie A now, though the bianconeri may well start getting a little hot under the collar if they cede ground to Roma this weekend. That's partly because Antonio Conte's side are hosting city rivals Torino at the Juventus Stadium, in the latest edition of the Derby della Mole. They haven't lost to Toro in almost 20 years, and certainly don't want to start now.

The weekend's action starts in Bologna, as the relegation strugglers look to dent Roma's title hopes at the Renato Dall'Ara. That's unusually Serie A's only Saturday game, with both Milan sides in action on Sunday, before Champions League hopefuls Fiorentina and Napoli play their respective games on Monday.

Saturday

Bologna vs. Roma

Stadio Renato Dall'Ara; 8:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m. ET

Roma should start the round with a routine three points away at the Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna. *Should*. It's certainly not a foregone conclusion, as the relegation-struggling hosts have made life difficult for some of Serie A's bigger sides this season, only narrowly going down to AC Milan last weekend on the back of a massive victory against Torino. A couple of points clear of the relegation trouble heading into the round, this one has upset potential.

Sunday

Livorno vs. Hellas Verona

Stadio Armando Picchi; 12:30 p.m. local, 6:30 a.m. ET

These two sides couldn't be further from each other on the political spectrum, and are almost as far apart on the league table. The communists Livorno are only a point clear of the relegation zone heading into the round, while their right-wing counterpart Hellas are still in the running for a Europa League spot, only a season after winning promotion to Serie A. However, the amaranto have been in pretty good form of late, seeing off Cagliari 2-1 last weekend, while Hellas capitulated at home to Torino. Again, this one could throw up a surprise.

Udinese vs. Atalanta

Stadio Friuli; 3 p.m. local, 9 a.m. ET

By their own standards, Udinese have had a pretty terrible campaign. In any ordinary season, the zebrette would be expecting to run away with a win against Atalanta, though at present, they're level on points with them in the table. Francesco Guidolin's side have at least found some form over the last few weeks, picking up seven points from a possible nine. With Atalanta having endured a nightmare 4-0 home defeat to Parma last weekend, Udinese will look to capitalise on low morale.

Inter Milan vs. Cagliari

San Siro; 3 p.m. local, 9 a.m. ET

Inter have ended their terrible run of form with a couple of consecutive victories in Serie A, impressively downing fellow European hopefuls Fiorentina last weekend. They really should pick up a win over struggling Cagliari on Saturday, with the Sardinian outfit alarmingly slipping into a relegation scrap. It might not be long before we see Diego Luis López replaced on the rossoblù bench.

Chievo Verona vs. Catania

Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi; 3 p.m. local, 9 a.m. ET

This one really is a relegation six-pointer. Both Catania and Chievo are tucked just inside the relegation zone heading into the round, with the Veronese hosts a point below their Sicilian visitors. A win for either of these sides could kickstart a run up the table, while a defeat may spell disaster. It's Catania who head in with the edge, with Rolando Maran's side unbeaten in their last four. Chievo, meanwhile, haven't won a game all year.

Sampdoria vs. AC Milan

Stadio Luigi Ferraris; 3 p.m. local, 9 a.m. ET

One of the revelations of the season has been Siniša Mihajlović at Sampdoria, with the Serbian coach having worked wonders since replacing Delio Rossi at the Luigi Ferraris. He's turned Samp from relegation strugglers to a tough mid-table side, more than capable of taking points of Clarence Seedorf's shaky Milan. However, they suffered a narrow defeat to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League in midweek, and the rossoneri may just be starting to improve under their new Dutch coach.

Juventus vs. Torino

Juventus Stadium; 6:30 p.m. local, 12:30 p.m. ET

Juventus have looked characteristically invincible for most of the season, though draws to Lazio and Hellas Verona in their last four league games have given Roma a tiny chance of reeling them in. There's no one who'd prefer putting a further dent in their title hopes than their cross-town rivals Torino this weekend, with Giampiero Ventura's high-flying bulls currently enjoying an excellent season. They're right in the running for a Europa League spot, and could well upset the bianconeri.

Lazio vs. Sassuolo

Stadio Olimpico; 8:45 p.m. local, 2:45 p.m. ET

Despite some impressive January signings, poor Sassuolo are currently enduring a horrible run of form. Coach Alberto Malesani has, as per usual, done nothing to improve his side's fortunes, and a sixth consecutive defeat away at the frustratingly-inconsistent Lazio would likely see him replaced by his predecessor Eusebio Di Francesco. The neroverdi are only three points adrift of safety, though are losing touch quickly.

Monday

Parma vs. Fiorentina

Stadio Ennio Tardini; 7 p.m. local, 1 p.m. ET

Parma are continuing to soar under Roberto Donadoni, with the crociati's emphatic victory over Atalanta last weekend extending their unbeaten run to 12 matches. The Emilians are within touching distance of a return to European competition for the first time in over a decade, though Champions League hopefuls Fiorentina will look to throw a spanner in the works by bouncing back from defeat to Inter with a win.

Napoli vs. Genoa

Stadio San Paolo; 9 p.m. local, 3 p.m. ET

Napoli have opened up a six-point buffer over Fiorentina in the third and final Serie A Champions League spot, and should maintain said gap with a victory at home to Genoa on Monday. Having said that, Gian Piero Gasperini's grifone have been an unpredictable lot so far this season, and head in on the back of an exciting 3-3 draw against Udinese. You never quite know which Genoa is going to turn up, but if it's a good one, Rafael Benítez's side could find themselves dropping points.

Manchester City and Manchester United could be encouraged to bid for Alessio Cerci amid reports Torino will sanction the winger's sale if they receive an offer in excess of £13m.

The 26-year-old impressed during his maiden campaign at Torino last term and has upped his game even more this season, striking 10 times in 23 Serie A outings.

His exciting displays have attracted suitors from within Italy and beyond, with the likes of Juventus and Inter also rivalling the two Manchester giants for his signature.

Torino are keen to extend his contract but Italian newspaper Tuttosport claim they could look to cash in if they receive a substantial offer for the former Roma man in the summer.

It is believed a fee of around £13m would be enough to land the attacker, who has been capped nine times by Italy.

Roma could be set to try their luck with an approach for unsettled Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski this summer, it has emerged.

The German international only joined the Gunners last season, putting in a solid campaign in his first year in English football, though he appears to have fallen out of favour with Arsene Wenger this time around.

With Podolski being one of the highest earners at the Emirates Stadium, it seems unlikely that the club will keep him on if he continues to warm the bench, and [football] direct news understands that Roma would be first in line to make an offer for him.

The Italian giants also signed Gervinho from Arsenal last summer, and the Ivory Coast winger has performed well at the Stadio Olimpico after also enduring a frustrating time in his two years in north London.

With Roma losing key attackers like Erik Lamela and Pablo Osvaldo this season, Podolski could be a useful signing upfront for Rudi Garcia's side.

The 28-year-old has five goals in eleven appearances in all competitions this season.