TURIN, 13 January 2009 - The meeting's set for Bremen. Brema. The time and date have already been agreed, it will take place after the Lazio game. Alessio Secco, the Juventus, sports director will fly to Germany to meet Werder Bremen management. Why? To get operation Diego officially up and running. Juventus management will talk to the German club's managers to see just how willing they are to sell the Brazilian playmaker. This is just the first step, but the feeling is there is a (strong) possibility they will be open to negotiate. The signs are all there. It's true the player is under contract with the German club until June 2011, but relations between Diego and Werder have been visibly difficult for some months now. So, if the club's management is as open to negotiate as expected, it won't be long until they're into stage two and talking money. An initial valuation of 25 million has been made . Will one meeting between Juventus and Werder be enough to bring that down a bit?

DIEGO'S REASONS - To add to the above, it's clear an agreement can be reached with the player. And, last week Diego showed in public just how well he gets on with the Bianconeri. Juventus has a 4-year contract ready for the Brazilian player, who will be 24 on 28 February. All that remains to agree is the final figure, although his initial request is pretty steep: €4.5 million net a season. Not the kind of salary Juventus can pay. But talk they will, and it looks like an agreement could be on the cards.

OK WITH RANIERI - Operation Diego continues. It's not a major assault, just a long reconnaissance mission. In other words, Juventus is checking out the situation. Claudio Ranieri has also given his go ahead. Two nights ago on the Domenica Sportiva program, the Juventus manager repeated that; "Certainly, Diego is a player I like." That's no surprise when you think how talented the Brazilian is. But the Juventus coach had more to say. Well, two more things actually. Firstly, that "Diego is a playmaker." Secondly, "I'm not going to change formation for the time being." Because the 4-4-2 works, there's no doubt about it. And any playmaker in a 4-4-2 would have to adapt. This means Diego would have to move to the left, where 36 year-old Nedved currently plays. In Scolari's Chelsea, playmaker Deco also had to move to the right. Otherwise, Ranieri would have to draw up a new 4-3-1-2 which would be the most difficult of options at the moment. Nevertheless, going by what the Juventus boss has been saying, perhaps Ranieri has been playing the club's game to get the best deal possible.

DIEGO'S NOT THE ONLY OPTION- The Diego deal may be the first option, but it's not the only one. Juventus has some other ideas up its sleeve should they come back from Bremen with a definite no for Diego. Finding a player for the post-Nedved era won't be easy. But at least they've found a few more options. Valencia's Silva and Babel from Liverpool for example. In the winter market, all that's expected is a quick touch up to defence. The long-term objective is still the Fiorentina midfielder Da Costa. Secco categorically denied any chance of seeing Brazilian Mattioni playing for Juventus: "I've shown no interest whatsoever in this player." End of story.