No matter if it’s been been the previous front office or the current one, Juventus has done a decent amount of business in Ligue 1. The general strategy has been the same — looking for talented players who are either at the end of their contracts or entering the final year of their deals at the time and showing no signs of renewing.
Juve did it with Khephren Thuram last summer. They did it with Jonathan David this summer. And now, on Deadline Day, they’ve done it again with a player that David already
has a massive amount of chemistry with.
Juventus announced shortly after the summer transfer deadline officially arrived on Monday evening that they have signed Lille winger Edon Zhegova in a deal worth an initial €14.3 million plus another €1.2 million in ancillary costs and €3 million in potential add-on bonuses. He will, essentially, take the place Nico González, who finalized his move to Atlético Madrid on loan with option (or obligation) to buy earlier in the day. Zhegrova, like a lot like David, was available because he entered the final year of his contract with Lille letting the club know that he really had no intention of extending his deal. Unlike David who arrived at Juventus as a free agent, Zhegrova left Lille the summer before his contract expired, much like Thuram did when leaving Nice last year.
Zhegrova — who also had heavy interest from Marseille before Juventus jumped in and became the most likely destination — signed a contract through 2030 and will reportedly make €2.5 million net a season. He will take over the No. 11 shirt following González’s departure.
Also of note: Zhegrova, a Kosovo international, has only recently gotten Albanian citizenship thanks to his family history, meaning he won’t count as a non-EU player signed by Juve this summer. (Of course, it didn’t hurt that Albania’s current prime minister, Edi Rama, is a very open Juventino.)
Here are the official details of the deal, courtesy of the Juventus press office:
Turin, 1 September 2025 – Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that an agreement with LOSC Lille for the definitive acquisition of the registration rights of the player Edon Zhegrova has been reached for a consideration of € 14.3 million, payable in four financial years, with the addition of ancillary costs up to € 1.2 million.
Furthermore, bonuses up to a maximum of € 3 million are envisaged upon the achievement of further performance objectives.
Juventus and the player have signed a contract of employment until the 30 June 2030.
Zhegrova, who arrived in Italy on Monday morning and underwent his medical exams shortly thereafter, joins a Juventus side that has been busy when it comes to adding to its attack this summer. There’s obviously the reunion between Zhegrova and David — two players who teamed up for a lovely goal in last season’s meeting with Juve in the Champions League — but also the permanent signing of Francisco Conceição and the impending signing of Loïs Openda, who will arrive on loan with an option to buy from RB Leipzig.
It’s expected that Zhegrova will compete for minutes with Conceição, who at some points in the summer looked like he might not sign permanently with Juve. A lot like Conceição, Zhegrova will be a natural winger used as one of the two attacking players behind David or — surprise! — Dusan Vlahovic at the top of Igor Tudor’s 3-4-2-1.
Zhegrova spent the past five seasons with Lille, with his 2023-24 campaign being his best season in Ligue 1, recording 12 goal contributions — six goals and six assists — in just under 2,300 minutes. in less than 1,000 minutes against league opposition last season, Zhegrova was on pace to surpass that goal total by some distance, but saw an adductor injury end his season shortly after Juventus and Lille played in the Champions League.
But now Zhegrova is a Juve player rather than preparing to face them in Europe. He’s got the rapport with one Juve player already, and now he is set to be another weapon for Tudor to use front in a group of attacking players that certainly does not lack for talent at the moment.
