For the first time since he took over for Damien Comolli earlier this month, new Juventus CEO Giovanni Carnevali was in front a microphone to speak as a front-facing member of the club. That interview came Monday evening with Sky Sport Italia, and there’s one thing for certain about Juve’s new sporting chief’s first time in front of a microphone:
He didn’t leave much uncovered.
That is to say that Carnevali addressed pretty much everything you were wondering about Juventus’ summer transfer market.
Want an update on Randal Kolo Muani? You got that. On the search for a new goalkeeper? You got that, too. Where do things stand with the couple of rumored deals with Bologna? Check. And a few other players? Carnevali did that.
So when it came to the biggest things that Carnevali is trying to address this summer, he said the following:
“Both the goalkeeper and the striker are key players. However, that’s not enough, because we need to build other opportunities around them. We need to work calmly because the current economic conditions and demand are very high.”
(All quotes via GianlucaDiMarzio.com)
As we know, the main name in the striker hunt right now is Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani, a player who has already reportedly agreed to personal terms with Juventus. PSG are reportedly demanding a total package of €40 million for Kolo Muani, with Juve trying to get it done on a loan-with-obligation-to-buy format. On the RKM front, Carnevali said the following:
“Kolo is a possibility because he’s been talked about for a long time. You know full well that there were difficulties previously, and so relations with PSG are also being mended, and we’re pursuing certain discussions, but they must be under the right and acceptable conditions. After that, we need to conclude because, as you know, concluding these negotiations is never easy. One thing is certain: we have clear ideas, we know what we want to do and where we want to go.”
The “relations with PSG also being mended” is a pretty good clue as to what Carnevali is trying to accomplish on top of simply signing the player this summer. We know that negotiations with PSG for Kolo Muani with Comolli at the helm last summer didn’t go very well — both in terms of bringing the player back to Turin and also simply in terms of their being good relations between the two sides being left. PSG wanted upward of €55 million for Kolo Muani, Comolli wasn’t willing to pay it and those bridges appeared to be pretty much toasted after that.
So now, with Kolo Muani again on Juve’s radar, it’s Carnevali pretty much coming out and saying that he’s out here trying to clean up Comolli’s mess with PSG (and who knows what other clubs that he might deal with this summer and beyond).
And when it comes to the other half of that “key players” statement — the goalkeeper pursuit? A lot in the same fashion as Kolo Muani is to the striker position right now, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez is Juventus’ top choice to replace Michele Di Gregorio in goal. Like Kolo Muani, Martinez has also reportedly agreed to personal terms on a contract with Juve, but Aston Villa’s demands
“Martinez is an important player. He’s the goalkeeper for the Argentina national team and a highly skilled player with extensive experience, and he could be a perfect fit for Juventus. I won’t deny that we’re evaluating other players, though. He’s not the only one, there are several. There’s talk of Vicario, who’s another goalkeeper who could be of interest, but there are other players as well. We don’t have an immediate need to close deals right now. We have plenty of time to think and try to find players who are eager to join Juve. Everyone should arrive with the desire to join a club that aims to achieve important results.”
There has been a lot of chatter about Juventus needing to sell a player and get a substantial profit on the books before the fiscal year comes to an end on June 30. The only name that seemingly provides that, within logic, is midfielder Fabio Miretti, who has been rumored to potentially be on the way to Bologna in a deal that could lay the groundwork for Juve to try and sign center back Jhon Lucumi.
“I don’t think it’s easy to close the deal, firstly because Miretti is a player we believe in and, above all, we believe he has value. I don’t think the conditions are right to sell him right now, also because we don’t need to be able to make any sales at this time. The same goes for Lucumì, who has a €28 million release clause. At the same time, we believe he’s an important player and could be of interest, but not under these conditions.”
Another notable thing about June 30: It’s the final day of Dusan Vlahovic’s contract. And let’s just say Carnevali did not sound like somebody who is all that interested in bringing Vlahovic back to Juve after his eventful 4 1/2 years in Turin.
“Personally, I’ve never spoken to him. In football, there aren’t any opportunities today and there are tomorrow. He’s an important player, but he’s not in our thoughts right now.”
There is a potential return to Turin in the cards in the form of center back Tarik Muharemović, a player who Carnevali himself signed at Sassuolo two years ago. A former member of the Next Gen squad, Juventus essentially have a 50% discount on the deal with the club having a 50% sell-on clause on any future sale. Therefore, rumors of Muharemović potentially coming back to Juventus have picked up a lot of momentum in recent days, with the club reportedly speaking with the player over the weekend about coming back to Turin.
“He’s a player I know very well, so we know the value of this young player with great prospects. We need to think about what kind of demands there are because the player is still 50% ours. So in this case, we’ll evaluate what opportunities there may be, especially in major leagues, but at the same time, we’re keeping an eye on him because he could be interesting for Juventus.”
All in all, this is about as much as we’ve heard from a Juve sporting chief in quite a while. You got everything you wanted in terms of where things stand. If this is going to be the norm when it comes to Carnevali speaking, it’s going to be a change from how Comolli operated.
