'Atomic Ant' to leave Juve?

Liverpool, West Ham and Arsenal have been alerted to news in Italy suggesting Italian starlet Sebastian Giovinco is frustrated with his role at Juventus.

The diminutive star was the shining light of the Azzuri's U21 side's failed bid to win the European championships in Sweden last summer. Despite his impressive displays the 22-year-old is widely regarded as the best young prospect in Italy although he is struggling to earn a starting place in the Juventus side. His agent Andrea D'Amico told Sportitalia.

"There are many factors to be considered and resolved in this matter."

"We are in the presence of a world-class player whose performances have proved he deserves to stay at Juve.

"He had started off well this season and played several matches. Then, he suffered a thigh injury; otherwise I'm convinced he would have started this weekend's match against Roma.

"Then again, it's obvious that Diego's signing has tactically affected him. We will see what his project might be at the end of the season, what his plans are, because I believe he deserves to play more regularly.

"He is very young and I hope that Juve will manage to draw up a suitable project both for them and the player, who deserves to be happy."

Giovinco has been linked to Liverpool, Arsenal and West Ham in the past but he has repeatedly declared his intention to stay with his boyhood club. However, he is still not considered a first team starter and has played in just 11 league games this season (five starts) and scored once.

The summer arrival of Brazilian playmaker Diego has made Giovinco's first team chances even bleaker and if the situation continues then he may finally feel his future lies elsewhere.

Rafa Benitez has reportedly targeted the youngster who would add width and dribbling ability to his Liverpool side. The Reds manager is trying to add more creativity to the ranks but is still lacking players that can beat a man on a regular basis. The likes of Dirk Kuyt, Albert Riera, Alberto Aquilani, Maxi Rodriguez and Yossi Benayoun are all talented attacking players but Giovinco would offer the team something very different with his pace and tight control.

Arsenal had been linked strongly with a move for the highly-talented Giovinco throughout last summer as speculation rose concerning his happiness at Juventus due to limited first team opportunities and contract disputes. The Gunners were rumoured to have bid £5.8m for the Juventus wonderkid which was subsequently rejected but Arsene Wenger remains a keen admirer of the player.

Giovinco is one of Europe's finest young talents which were perfectly illustrated his talent at the Beijing Olympics as part of the Italian representative side. Where the Italian would fit in at the Emirates is unsure with a plethora of creative attacking talent already at Wenger's disposal. However, the Arsenal manager is a fan of the Italian and may be tempted to add his technical quality to his young side.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola is also a keen admirer and with the backing of the new Hammers board may well bid in the summer. Like Zola himself, Giovinco is small but has a massive talent and would be a big hit with the Upton Park faithful with a dynamism and awareness. He could comfortably play as a second striker behind Carlton Cole which would provide West Ham with a front pairing packed with pace, power and trickery.

The 22-year-old spent the 2007-2008 season on loan at Empoli where he certainly caught the eye. At 5 ft 4, the attacking midfielder is nicknamed the 'Atomic Ant' but for what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for in ability.

Despite the youngster having played just 33 league matches (17 starts) for the Juventus first team, he's held in extremely high regard by the club and particularly the fans. Giovinco has not featured since December 20th and his last 5 appearances in all competitions have been as a substitute which has led to his unrest.

He will not be short of options if he does decide to leave with Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham plus a host of interested parties all tracking him.

Last summer's contract dispute with the club led to a fans protest after it was suggested that Arsenal were to set to move for the player with Robin Van Persie perhaps heading to Turin. A poll launched on the Juve fans vecchiasignora.com website ended with a staggering 89.5% voting in favour of snubbing a potential Van Persie player-exchange offer for Giovinco from the Gunners. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise as the wonderkid has been hailed as the future of the club and heir to club legend Alessandro Del Piero. Giovinco started just 9 League games last season and struggled to get a game with the plethora of attacking talent on show at the club such as Del Piero, Trezeguet, Iaquinta and the Brazilian Amauri. Diego was added from Werder Bremen which have impacted heavily on the Atomic Ant's chances of first team football.

During the 2007/08 season he was compared to arguably the best player in the world Lionel Messi by former Calgilari Coach Davide Ballardini who said, "Juventus are the kings of the transfer market as Sebastian Giovinco drives me crazy."

"He has amazing qualities, he is unpredictable and he works well in the team.

"He has to be patient at the start and I believe Giovinco is Juve's answer to Milan's Ronaldinho.

"I saw Giovinco last year at Empoli and I may be crazy, but he is just as good as Lionel Messi.

"There is not much of a difference between the two."

The local-born youngster joined Juventus in 2001 aged 14. Giovinco has since worked his way through the youth system into the first team squad. The Italian made his first team debut in May 2007 in a Serie B encounter with Bologna. Despite coming on as a substitute, the youngster illustrating his potential by setting up a David Trezeguet goal with an excellent pass.

Arsene Wenger has been aware of Giovinco for many years through his extensive scouting network and was given no encouragement he could tempt him to Arsenal until now. Gianfranco Zola will be hoping that as a similar type of player he can convince his compatriot to move to Upton Park ahead of bigger English clubs Liverpool and Arsenal. Benitez has had the player tracked but a move for Giovinco will rely heavily on whether Liverpool can secure 4th spot in the Premier League and with it Champions League football.

A season-long loan at Empoli brought Giovinco to the public's attention. Despite impressing he did not do enough to keep the club in Serie A though he did make 35 League appearances (20 starts) and scored 6 goals. This included strikes against League runners-up Roma both home and away.

The Juventus star has represented Italy from U16 level upwards and was voted Player of the competition last year at the U21 Toulon Tournament. Italy managed to win the trophy for the first time in their history with Giovinco playing an integral role. This prompted a call-up to the Olympic squad for the trip to Beijing.

The youngster is arguably the most exciting youngster in Italian football at the moment and despite his lack of games with Juventus he is regarded as a future world class star. However, the player's patience may be beginning to wear thin with Liverpool, Arsenal and West Ham all waiting to swoop.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.