'Chance to play with Cristiano Ronaldo is special': Former Juventus striker backs Aaron Ramsey's potential move

What's the story?

Former Liverpool and Juventus striker Ian Rush has hailed Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey's potential transfer to the Old Lady as a "fantastic move", adding that a chance to play with Cristiano Ronaldo is "something special".

In case you didn't know...

Ramsey has been heavily linked with a move to the Bianconeri outfit in recent months following Arsenal's refusal to offer him a new deal at the club. The 28-year-old had established himself as a mainstay in the Gunners midfield, scoring 60 goals in 352 appearances for the club.

The Welshman is free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with any club of his choice and has garnered interest from European giants like Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich as well.

Juventus confirmed their interest in the midfielder via sporting director Fabio Paratici who said (via Sky Sport Italia), "Yes, we are interested in Aaron Ramsey."

"He's a great midfielder but at the moment he's an Arsenal player. We will see. He's a great player, he's been at great levels for years and plays in a great team.

"It [Ramsey's contract] is due to expire and we are always attentive to the situations that can be created. Juve are on him. Will Ramsey play with us after July? This is all to be verified. For now, he is an Arsenal player."

The heart of the matter

Rush has now urged Ramsey to make his move to Juventus, especially since Ronaldo would be there to help him settle in.

Speaking to ESPN, the former Juventus star said, "Times have changed. When I was there I had to do everything myself. Now it's moved on that much that everything is done for them and the most important thing for him is to concentrate on his football, his attacking play and all that."

"He'll learn the language when he's ready and that's what it's all about. He's got six months to learn it, I had 12 months as well.

"First impressions [are] a big thing in Italy and I would say to Aaron: 'Go there, be confident and tell them how good you are' and all that, give them one sentence in Italian and his first impression that will be job done for him."

Rush added, "I think [Juventus] is a fantastic move for him. When I went there it was an industrial city but it's come on a million times better since I was there."

"I think Juventus are an amazing club. They've still got connections with the Agnelli family, Andrea Agnelli is the president there and Gianni Agnelli was the owner when I was there. So they are very passionate about it."

"I think he'd do really well, you've got [Cristiano] Ronaldo there to play with and all that, so that's something special. But I think Aaron will be something special for Juventus and I'm sure he'll enjoy it."

What's next?

While Arsenal is set to face Huddersfield on Saturday, Juventus will go head-to-head with Sassuolo in the Serie A.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram