There are a couple of areas on the Juventus roster that are in something of a state of upheaval as preseason dawns, and the biggest mess is up top.
Juventus is all over the place at the striker position. Their three strikers last year are either out of contract (Dusan Vlahovic) or failed so spectacularly last year that the team would prefer to move them on (Jonathan David, Loïs Openda). That’s led the team’s new front office to totally rebuild that part of the forward line.
Teenager Jeff Ekhator was
the first piece to that puzzle after he arrived from Genoa, but with him coming off injured in Juve’s preseason opener against Basel, the Bianconeri’s need for strikers continues to be one of their most pressing as the transfer window moves forward. There have been multiple branches to this hunt, and each has seen their own developments.
First is the interminable pursuit of Randal Kolo Muani, a man that three successive sets of front office personnel have attempted to wrest from Paris Saint-Germain over the last year and a half. It’s been established over that time that Kolo Muani is very willing to return to Turin after enjoying his loan spell two seasons ago, but Juve and Paris Saint-Germain have never been able to agree on a fee. The Bianconeri, of course, have financial restrictions to their current operation, while the two-time defending European champions are set on recouping enough of their massive investment in the player.
According to multiple sources, the two clubs are €20 million apart in their most recent rounds of negotiation, with PSG demanding €55 million and Juve only willing to go to €35 million. But hopes for the striker’s return still haven’t been extinguished. The Frenchman returned to training with PSG on Friday, but according to Fabrizio Romano he has been told he is not part of the team’s plans and been relegated to the Under-19 squad. That decision likely gives Juve officials hope that there is still wiggle room to get Kolo Muani’s price down to an acceptable level, given PSG’s determination to offload him.
Should that prove impossible, Juve are also already working on an alternative. That alternative is 24-year-old Parma striker Mateo Pellegrino. This time the difference isn’t in the valuation of the player, but how the transfer is to be executed.
Juve are looking for a loan with an option to buy, which would be turned into an obligation under certain conditions. Parma, on the other hand, want more guarantees for a permanent move, especially since they owe a portion of any transfer fee to Pellegrino’s old club, Velez Sarsfield. Pellegrino, who scored 12 goals in 39 matches in all competitions a year ago, is also reportedly a target for Crystal Palace, but the player is apparently set on Juve.
However the front office manages to solve the striker issues, it’ll need to be done quickly with the beginning of the season just over a month away. Watch this space for more.
