Despite Signing Douglas Luiz And Thuram, Juventus Have Several Reasons To Go For Atalanta Star
Written By Onyeka Daniel
In the next days or week, Italian giants, Juventus will look to complete a trio of midfield signings by making an effort to sign Dutch midfielder, Teun Koopmeiners, afet signing Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa and are very close to announcing the signing of French midfielder, Khephren Thuram.
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According to Fabrizio Romano, the Bianconeri are reportedly growing confident of signing the Atalanta star despite the resistance from the recent Europa League title winnners. According to the report, the Turin giants will soon resume talks with La Dea, and are ready to send an opening bid in the coming days.
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There are three major reasons why Juve want Koopmeiners, whom they’ve been following since the middle of the 2023-24 season. One, he was said to be the first request of their new manager, Thiago Motta, who wants to play the 4-3-3 formation
Plus, signing Koopmeiners ahead of Liverpool will give their midfield a different dimension and lastly, to serve as a signal to Adrien Rabiot that he’s replaceable in the team, amidst reports that he’s looking to join Real Madrid on a free transfer, rather than sign a new deal.
Currently, Rabiot’s future in Turin yet to be resolved, and now that he’s a free agent, the club don’t want to be held hostage in negotiations, like in the last summer transfer window when they faced similar situation.
Since Rabiot is closer to leaving Juventus than extending his contract, Motta’s men are ready to step up their pursuit of the former AZ Alkmaar man. Koopmeiners has been among the best-performing midfielders in Serie A since moving to Atalanta in 2021.
Furthermore, Rabiot has displayed a fierce loyalty to former manager, Massimiliano Allegri and he’s said to be upset with his sacking. In fact, there have been several reports that his future at the club is tied to the future of Allegri, even if Juventus would love to keep him for his goal scoring prowess, but his replacement is not lacking in that department.
Last season, Koopmeiners racked up 15 goals and seven assists across 51 appearances in all competitions, so Rabiot would definitely not be missed. For Juve, they’re ready to include Dean Huijsen in the deal, to lower the cost, perhaps, this is why Atalanta were confident enough to sell promising Italian defender, Caleb Okoli to EPL Club, Leicester City.
The Turin-based club also have several names on their list as backup, just in case they fail to find an agreement or another club somehow manage to beat them to his signature. Names like Lazar Samardzic, Ederson, Leandro Paredes and Sergi Roberto, but all efforts will be dedicated towards getting their first target before exploring other options.
Meanwhile…
Roma’s pursuit of Juventus forward Federico Chiesa could receive a decisive boost as the Italy international could be available on a cut-price deal this summer, according to a report from Tuttosport. Juve are keen to offload Chiesa to the highest bidder, partly because Motta has already signaled to the club that he can do without the former Fiorentina man.
They paid the Tuscan club approximately €50 million to sign him in 2022. Though Juventus had initially hoped to earn around €35-40m from Cheisa’s exit, they might have to settle for a significantly lower figure. He failed to impress with the Azzurri at the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany.
Hence his price has fallen, closer to the €10m mark, plus no other club seem to be showing interest at the moment. With Juventus making significant financial sacrifices to reinforce their squad, cashing in on Chiesa is among the club’s priorities. They must shift the 26-year-old’s wages off their books to open room for the newcomers.
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Juve’s fierce rivals Roma have displayed a genuine interest in Chiesa amid Daniele De Rossi’s effort to revamp his attacking options. The idea is to reunite Chiesa with his former Juventus clubmate Paulo Dybala to strengthen their frontline, to further convince the latter to stay at the club.
The Giallorossi also want to sign a centre-forward this summer, with Romelu Lukaku’s loan spell having ended, so he will not join the club permanently and his future lies away from the Olimpico. They now hold a concrete interest in Villarreal striker Alexander Sørloth and have made contact for the player.
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