Inter, Juve after Riquelme

Italian champions Inter Milan and Juventus are set to battle it out for the signature of Argentina playmaker Juan-Roman Riquelme in the January transfer window, press reports suggested here Monday.
Riquelme, who once forged a formidable forward pairing with Uruguay striker Diego Forlan at Villarreal, is due to leave the Yellow Submarines in January after failing to patch-up his differences with coach Manuel Pellegrini.
The Argentine forward went out on loan last season after falling out of favour with Pellegrini, despite being the team's star man the season before.
He came close to joining Atletico Madrid in the summer for around nine million euros and it is believed that a similar sum could tempt Villarreal into letting him leave for Italy.
Riquelme's international teammate Walter Samuel, a centre-back, said he would love to see the 29-year-old join him at Inter, particularly with right-winger Luis Figo injured.
"They say that Riquelme is slow and it makes me laugh," Samuel told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"With him the ball goes so quickly. He is a great three-quarter (attacking midfielder) and the kind of player you can rely on - I'd love to have him here at Inter."
Riquelme is in fine form having scored twice in Argentina's win over Bolivia at the weekend.
Juventus reportedly have first refusal on Riquelme, although Inter may be able to outbid them and some reports suggest Real Madrid are also interested.