This is the news cycle we live in as people who write about football.
The season isn’t even cold, and a World Cup is on the way, and the coming transfer window is still foremost in everyone’s minds.
There’s a lot to happen before silly season truly comes upon us, but the rumors are already flying, and here are some of the more interesting ones connected to Juve on Thursday.
Musical Strikers
The striker position is going to be first and foremost on everyone’s mind as the transfer window arrives. Dusan Vlahovic did well when he was on the field this past season, and if he takes a cut from the massive €12 million net yearly salary that Andrea Agnelli included in the last two years of his deal, an extension is possible.
But given the struggles of the other strikers on the roster, Juve are certainly going to be in for some upgrades. One name that has popped up on the radar again is Jean-Phillipe Mateta.
The Crystal Palace striker has one year left on his contract and tried to force his way out of the London club in January. He was a player Spalletti coveted, but Milan ended up agreeing to a deal with Palace—only for it to fall apart when a knee issue was discovered during his physical. Mateta rehabbed and was available for the last nine games of Palace’s season, including the recent Conference League final, where he scored the deciding goal.
Milan’s deal to sign him in January was €35 million, and it’s highly unlikely Palace can extract that given Mateta’s contract status, even if he raises his stock the World Cup for France.
Speaking of France, the heaviest rumors around Jonathan David involve the Canada international returning to Ligue 1 to try to find his footing again. New reporting in France has put Olympique Lyon as a contender for his services.
Seeing as how David was a free agent, selling him would be great for the books during a tight financial situation, and it’s likely that Juve will spring for a competitive offer for him if one arrives. His value could also rise if he has a good World Cup for the co-hosts.
Brain trust split on Douglas Luiz
Douglas Luiz just won the Europa League with Aston Villa, but they will not activate their buy option on him this summer, sending the erstwhile midfielder back to Turin. According to reports from Gazzetta dello Sport, there could be some conflict among Juve’s decision makers as to what to do with him.
The pink paper reports that Luciano Spalletti is conscious of the fact that the lack of Champions League football will lower Juve’s appeal in the transfer market, and is interested in giving the Brazilian a chance to reestablish himself in the squad next year. With his loan over, Spalletti wants to see if he can get the Brazilian right, which could make up a little for their lack of recruitment appeal.
But Damien Comolli is thoroughly opposed to Spalletti’s view and reportedly wants to court offers for Luiz, seeing him as one of the better candidates to sell off to make up for the financial shortfall that missing the Champions League has created.
With reports of a power struggle between Spalletti and Comolli already out there, it will be interesting to see which view prevails by season’s end.