Juventus name three-man shortlist of Gasperini, Inzaghi and Spalletti' to replace Pirlo

Juventus have drawn up a three-man shortlist of managerial candidates as the pressure intensifies on Andrea Pirlo after their shock 1-0 defeat by Benevento.

That's according to Italian publication La Repubblica on Tuesday, who say Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini, Lazio's Simone Inzaghi and Luciano Spalletti, currently a free agent, are the leading contenders.

After crashing out the Champions League to Porto earlier this month, Juve's domestic woes were compounded by the Benevento defeat on Sunday and after winning nine straight Serie A titles, they are 10 points adrift of leaders Inter Milan.

Gasperini, 63, has caught the eye at Atalanta in recent seasons mainly through his exploits in the Champions League. Last season, he led them to the quarter-final before Paris Saint-Germain knocked them out.

This season, he took Atalanta to the last-16 via a win against Liverpool at Anfield in the group stage before being knocked out by Real Madrid. In Serie A this season, Atalanta are fourth and level on points with Juve but have played one game more.

Inzaghi, meanwhile, has Lazio six points off the top four at present but have a game in hand on Atalanta. They too crashed out the Champions League in the last-16 after being defeated by holders Bayern Munich.

He has been Lazio's manager since 2016, winning the 2018 Coppa Italia.

Spalletti's last job was manager of Inter, departing at the end of the 2018-19 campaign after Inter only qualified for the Europa League. His availability is the cheaper option for Juventus.

La Repubblica add that at present, Juve are not planning to dismiss Pirlo with the season ongoing but if things get worse, they could be forced to act and appoint his assistant, Igor Tudor, in temporary charge until the end of the season.

After the international break, Juve return to domestic action against Torino on April 3.