Gabriel Jesus would be Cristiano Ronaldo’s at Juventus, says Luca Toni
Former Italy striker Luca Toni believes Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus would be the perfect partner for Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Jesus has once again had to compete with Sergio Aguero for the starting berth at City, starting just 13 of his 24 Premier League appearances this season.
But in those games, the Brazilian has managed 10 goals and four assists. Only Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne have been directly involved in more goals than the Brazilian among Man City players.
Should Juventus sign Gabriel Jesus? Five things to know…
- Gabriel Jesus has been directly involved in 14 Premier League goals this season.
- But the Brazilian still remains second-choice at Manchester City to Sergio Aguero.
- Juventus are currently searching for a new striker to add to their attacking line.
- They have been linked with the likes of Erling Braut Haaland and Harry Kane.
- But Luca Toni believes Jesus would be a better partner for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Jesus has been always remained committed to Manchester City but this relative lack of first-team opportunities marks him as one of the more realistically gettable top-level talents in Europe.
One of the teams rumoured to be interested in signing Jesus is Serie A champions Juventus, who have been looking to add more firepower to their forward line which currently includes Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala.
In the January transfer window, Juventus were linked with a move for Erling Braut Haaland and interest remains after his blistering start to life at Borussia Dortmund.
But Italy legend Toni believes Jesus would be a better signing than the likes of Haaland and Harry Kane, because of the partnership he would be able to build alongside Ronaldo.
“[Jesus] is fast, technical, he does assists,” Toni told Tuttosport.
“Of these strikers, the Brazilian from Manchester City is the least [like a] striker. But he would be the most suitable to play with Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Because Ronaldo is not a pure centre-forward, but he is the one who scores the most and must score the most goals.
“A striker like Kane, who I consider the best of the under 30s, is not necessarily perfect for Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I see Gabriel Jesus as a much better option, who scores at City but also scores a lot, opens spaces for his teammates, presses and is only 22 years old.”
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.
‘Kane better than Jesus and Icardi’
Although Toni listed Jesus as the most suitable striking option for Juventus, the 42-year-old still believes Kane is better than the Brazilian and Paris Saint-Germain forward Mauro Icardi.
When asked to pick the strongest striker from Kane, Icardi, Jesus, Timo Werner and Haaland, Toni answered: “Kane. True centre-forward, who fills the area like few others: he is technical, good at playing with the team and above all lethal in the last few metres. And being 26, he still has room for growth.
“If Kane is 9 as an absolute value, Icardi is at 8. The PSG striker is the same age as the Englishman and as he is a great finalist, but now he is less complete, he must improve in the game with the team.
“Having said that, the experience of sharing the attack with champions like Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappé has certainly improved Icardi.”
