This time last month, Alisson Becker was Juventus’ clear No. 1 option to take over in goal for Michele Di Gregorio. That ship sailed, which meant Juve were forced to pivot to another option who is currently employed in the Premier League. Door No. 2 brought us to Emi Martinez, who for a couple of weeks looked to be a guy that wanted to come to Turin after speaking with Luciano Spalletti.
But now, as we head into the second half of June, we’re still waiting to see if Juventus and Aston Villa can actually
strike some sort of deal for the eccentric Argentine goalkeeper. Left to wonder if there’s a chance that it may ever happen or if Door No. 3 will have to be opened up.
Speaking of Door No. 3 …
According to Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio on Thursday, Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has a “value that is rising compared to that of Dibu Martinez” as Juventus try to find some sort of solution in goal following a 2025-26 season in which Di Gregorio was prone to mistake … after mistake … after mistake. The thing is, though, Vicario being the third option is not inspiring at all — especially when you consider there’s already been one pivot and that the drop off between the second and third is much greater than the one from the first to the second.
Vicario won’t cost as much as Martinez would, but that is because he isn’t as good as the man who was in goal when Argentina won the World Cup in 2022.
But, this is just another example of how Juventus’ summer mercato is nowhere near simple. There are financial limitations, and new CEO and general manager Giovanni Carnevali is going to have to work with those limitations for the foreseeable future. He is trying to upgrade a squad on a slim budget, and that means the players that Spalletti wants might not actually be the players that Spalletti ends up getting.
Vicario is an OK option in goal, but not one that blows you away by any means. Does he have some clout because he is Gianluigi Donnarumma’s longtime backup for the Italian national team? Sure, but there’s a reason why Tottenham want to sell him this summer following three years in London.
And that’s because they know they can do better, and they have the financial muscle to do so even after barely escaping relegation this past season.
Vicario was previously linked to Serie A champions Inter Milan before they went elsewhere to bring in a new goalkeeper this summer. He has also been linked with a move to Napoli, which also looks to be in the market for a new goalkeeper now that Antonio Conte has come in and had his latest two-year stint at a club that ended in a disappointing final few months.
At this point, though, there feels like a pretty good chance that things don’t work out with Aston Villa despite Martinez wanting to come to Juventus and Carnevali will have to pivot just as Damien Comolli did before he was done as CEO. And if that’s the case, then it’s time to think about how much of an upgrade Juventus would actually be making in goal compared to what they already have.
