One shot, then another with the aim of reaching three before the end of the transfer window. Juventus is proceeding quickly with the restyling of the midfield, a department that Thiago Motta wants to be dynamic, solid and full of goals. For this reason Cristiano Giuntoli is currently focusing his attention on the midfielder, who could change his skin a lot next season. Today could be the day of the official announcement of Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa’s Brazilian playmaker who will move to Turin as part of a three-way exchange with Samuel Iling Junior and Enzo Barrenechea plus a balance in favor of the English. A deal worth 60 million (this is how much the Seleçao midfielder is valued) to be made official after the outcome of the medical examinations, which the player underwent in Las Vegas, where he is involved in the America’s Cup with his national team, together with the other Bianconeri Danilo and Gleison Bremer. Then the attack will begin on Khephren Thuram, son of the former Juventus player Lilian and brother of Inter player Marcus, who the Lady expects to close next week, and finally they will look for the last miracle: giving the new coach Teun Koopmeiners, all-rounder of the ‘Atalanta that would make the Lady’s midfielder make a leap in quality.
Rabiot no? There’s Thuram
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Manuel Locatelli and Nicolò Fagioli must be added to the three newcomers, not Weston McKennie who, after saying no to Aston Villa, must find another place because he is not in Thiago’s or the club’s plans (his contract expires in 2025 and Juventus does not want to lose him for free). Fabio Miretti is in doubt, and could stay or go on loan, while Adrien Rabiot’s permanence is increasingly difficult, and despite Juventus’ substantial offer (a two-year contract with an option for a third at 7.5 million euros net per season) he has not yet given an answer. At this point, Juventus could change strategy, looking elsewhere. To tell the truth, Giuntoli is already doing so, because he has already started negotiating for Thuram junior with Nice, after having obtained the player’s yes. The deal could be closed for between 18 and 20 million, perhaps with the inclusion of a technical counterpart: the Bianconeri could offer Joseph Nonge Boende, a 2005-born midfielder who made his Serie A debut last season with Massimiliano Allegri. Juventus’ technical director is banking on the player’s desire and also on the contract expiring in 2025, which forces the French club (which started with a very high valuation) to lower its demands. The fact that they decided to go for Thuram regardless, considered a highly prospective investment (he is 23 years old) is confirmation that the club is no longer relying so much on Rabiot. The Frenchman had promised a response before the European Championship but has not yet made contact. So the Bianconeri have chosen to move up the time for the son of art. A little help could also come from the transfer of Moise Kean to Fiorentina, which should bring Juventus 13 million plus 5 in bonuses, profits that can be reinvested immediately in Thuram.
The perfect trio
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Khephren is more of a tackler who also knows how to get involved. He is dynamic and has good progression and one of his specialties is ball recovery. He doesn’t score many goals (only one goal last season) but Douglas Luiz will take care of those, 10 goals in 2023-24 between the Premier League and cups. The Brazilian scores and makes others score, but he is also someone who runs, recovers balls and gets into the area. In addition to setting up the game, dictating the tempo of the maneuver. In Thiago Motta’s mind the two will form a pair in the two-man midfield, with Koopmeiners behind Dusan Vlahovic in the 4-2-3-1.
The icing
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Koop has quality and great tactical versatility, with his left foot he finishes from outside the area and takes penalties: in the last season with Atalanta he finished with 15 goals (12 of which in Serie A). He would be the icing on the cake of a midfield that aims to rise to the height of… Inter. The difficult thing will be to negotiate with Atalanta, who are asking for 60 million. Juventus values the player at no more than 40 and does not intend to go beyond this figure. In the meantime, however, other sales will be needed (Dean Hujisen is first on the list) to be able to start the assault on the Dutchman.
