FORMER Rangers loan flop Aaron Ramsey has been offered a career lifeline by Juventus legend Andrea Pirlo, who is now in charge of ambitious Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk.
The Welsh international is now back in Turin with the Serie A giants with reports suggesting he is trying to cut a deal for Juve to pay up the remainder of his contract.
He spent the second half of last season on loan at Rangers, but the 31-year-old made only five league starts for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side in an injury-hampered spell. And he missed the crucial penalty in the spot kick shoot-out against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League Final in Seville last month.
However, Pirlo - who won four Serie A titles with Juventus and went on to manage them and Ramsey for a season - believes he can resurrect Ramsey's career in time for Wales' World Cup appearance later this year in Qatar.
Pirlo said: "I was lucky because I played for important clubs and I hope I can use some of my contacts to bring some of their players here.
"I think it would be good for some of them to experience a new culture and a new style of football."
And Italian reports have suggested he will try and persuade his former club to allow Ramsey to move to Karagumruk on a loan deal similar to the one he had in Glasgow.