Serie A giants Juventus have pinpointed Villarreal central defender Diego Godin as one of their top summer transfer targets, and are poised to test the Spanish sides’ resolve with a substantial bid.

According to reports in Italian sports publication Tuttosport, coach
Claudio Ranieri has been a long-time admirer of the Uruguayan stopper and has watched him form a powerful partnership with Diego Lugano for his national side.

Now it appears that Ranieri is about to table a bid in the region of €10m in order to lure promising 23-year old to Italy for the 2009/10 season.

Indeed, Juventus’ interest in the former Nacional defender is nothing new – they enquired to coach Manuel Pellegrini last summer as to his availability, and were told that it would take an eight-figure sum for Los Submarinos Amarillos to consider transferring one of their prize assets.

At the time, Juventus opted to wait and monitor his developments but now Godin has made 28 appearances for Villarreal this season including 5 in the Champions League, and Ranieri feels the time is right to re-ignite his interest.

However, Tuttosport also reports that rivals AC Milan had also shown interest in Godin previously, and may be willing to hi-jack any deal that The Old Lady aims to put in place.

Godin has made 28 appearances for the Uruguayan national team, scoring 2 goals, and has been a key figure in the bid to qualify for World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Paul Macdonald, Goal.com