As we are all well aware of, it has been an interesting summer for Juventus and their new CEO, Giovanni Carnevali. The transfer window has been one that has been slow to develop, but it’s also one in which the majority of the Bianconeri’s signings thus far have been ones in which we haven’t really seen coming. That, of course, doesn’t involve the long-standing negotiations that multiple Juve sporting chiefs had with Paris Saint-Germain for striker Randal Kolo Muani, a deal that is actually about
to cross the finish line.
No, really. It is. Juventus are about to sign Kolo Muani after Carnevali reportedly got things done earlier this week.
We also know this because Carnevali himself told us that same exact thing during an interview on Thursday night in which he touched on Kolo Muani and the big surprise that came shortly after news broke of there being an agreement with the two-time defending European champions: the deal for Bosnian teenager Kerim Alajbegović.
On Kolo Muani front, Carnevali said the following:
“We’re finalizing the deal for Kolo Muani now. It’s been a long-running negotiation. When I arrived at Juve, I read the newspapers and thought it was a done deal, but it wasn’t. There were some difficulties, and we needed to mend relations with PSG, remedying previous problems. We’re finalizing the deal right now and we’re in the final phase.”
Kolo Muani is expected in Turin at some point on Friday to begin the final steps of his move back to Juventus.
While the Alajbegović deal has gotten the “here we go!” treatment from Fabrizio Romano, Carnevali said that things aren’t advanced as compared to Kolo Muani. That doesn’t mean a deal is in danger or anything — Carnevali very much made it sound like the 18-year-old attacker is going to be a Juventus player, but there’s still a few things to hammer out.
Like teenage striker Jeff Ekhator and former Roma fullback Zeki Celik, the Alajbegović signing was very much one that caught many folks by surprise, with nowhere near the amount of reporting around it as some of the other reported Juve transfer targets this summer.
“We’re a bit behind with him, but we’re working on it. It’s a significant investment, but a club like Juve must also think about the future. He was born in 2007 and has the characteristics we’re looking for.”
Speaking of the transfer window as a whole …
“What’s the current situation with our market? We have a lot to do, especially in terms of outgoing players, and we need to make several deals. I don’t like the championship being played with the transfer market open. Last year, all the leagues except La Liga agreed, and we had to settle for that. In my opinion, the transfer market should close when the championship starts.“
One player who it sounds like Juventus won’t be signing this summer — or, in this case, re-signing considering they just employed for the past 4 1/2 years, including a Serie A-high salary the last couple of years — is Dusan Vlahovic.
Juventus’ talks — most notably with former Juve CEO Damien Comolli — are well documented at this point. But it was what Carnevali said that makes you believe that it’s pretty hard to believe Vlahovic would make a comeback to the Allianz Stadium in those same black and white stripes he’d worn since January 2022.
“I have never met Vlahovic. I know that Juve made him an offer that was not accepted. I have always made myself available but have never had meetings.”
As the month of August is just one day away, Vlahovic is still a free agent, with only Besiktas being a club that looks to have serious interest in bringing him in at the moment. However, he has yet to agree to terms, with Besiktas director Onder Ozen recently saying Vlahovic “would prefer to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues” rather than move to the Turkish Super Lig.
