A midfielder a month to refresh the Lady. More than a recipe for eternal youth, Juventus is a project to get closer to Inter. The purchase of Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) is only the first response to Calhanoglu and his teammates. Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli, in agreement with Thiago Motta, is working to revolutionize the midfield. If June is Douglas Luiz’s month – the agreement for the maxi-deal (Iling Jr, Barrenechea and 25 million) is now a matter of details – two more pieces could arrive between July and August. Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta) remains the big target and Juventus will make an attempt. Adrien Rabiot, on the other hand, is increasingly becoming the great unknown, so much so that at Continassa, while not abandoning the renewal negotiations, they are starting to look around with ever greater attention and concreteness. Confidence has not vanished, but it is reported to be at an all-time low. However, the prices of two possible heirs are on the rise: Khepheren Thuram (Nice) and Yossouf Fofana (Monaco). The fourth and fifth shots of the midfield will be the “new” Fagioli and Locatelli: if for the first it will be the championship of the restart after the betting case, the former Milan is counting on the Thiago Motta effect to return to the European 2020 one. Visits to the USA Giuntoli, one card at a time, plans to complete the plan. The priority at the moment is to get Douglas Luiz made official. On the Turin-Birmingham route, contacts have also continued in the last few hours. The agreement exists and is not in question: after Weston McKennie’s exit from the maxi-swap, Juventus and Aston Villa have found a solution on different bases: Douglas Luiz in exchange for 25 million and the youth cards Barrenechea and Iling Jr. Having found the right fit, the two clubs are working to finalize the agreements and finalize the documents. The white smoke should arrive by the end of the weekend. At the latest it will be postponed to the beginning of next week. If Juventus wants to package the first midfield gift for Thiago, Aston Villa needs to reach the finish line by next week due to Financial Fair Play issues. Douglas Luiz, in the USA with the Brazilian national team for the America’s Cup, was informed of the successful outcome of the negotiation. Now the now former Villans midfielder is just waiting for the green light for the medical visits, which he will undergo directly in the United States.
koop operation
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Douglas Luiz will not solve all the midfield problems, but in the meantime he will add technique, balance, insertions and a decent sense of goal (10 goals in 2023-24). Another dose of quality, unpredictability, assists and goals (15 in the last season) would be guaranteed with the arrival of Koopmeiners. Giuntoli would have liked to sign the Dutchman already in January and is now preparing the ground for the second assault. The contacts continue, but the Juventus director needs to raise cash with some transfers before sinking: from Huijsen (Borussia Dortmund are pressing) to McKennie up to Chiesa or Soulé. Sacrifices necessary in the name of the budget and to get closer to Atalanta’s requests: at least 55-60 million.
always French
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Meanwhile, the last turn of the hourglass for Adrien will begin at the beginning of the week. The former PSG player has not yet given Juventus an answer regarding the extension and in 9 days he will be free for all intents and purposes. The coldness of the latest statements (“Thiago Motta is exceptional, but he has his career to continue and I have mine”) forces Juventus to study a post-Rabiot. The names that most intrigue are those of Fofana and Thuram Jr, younger brother of Inter player Marcus. Both the Monaco midfielder (Milan is also there) and the Nice one have contracts expiring in twelve months (2025) and will move on in the summer.
