Juventus are pushing to complete a deal for Pierre Kalulu with AC Milan, a report claims, while three names have emerged as potential counterparts in the negotiation.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, things moved quickly yesterday as Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli reached an agreement with both the player and the Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani. The final details are still missing, but the deal seems to be closed and the competition from Atalanta fought off.
A quick swoop
After missing out on Jean-Clair Todibo, Juve have turned to Kalulu in their bid to strengthen the defence and Giuntoli first found an agreement in principle with the player (contract worth approximately €2.5m net per season) and then one with Milan.
The Rossoneri agreed on the basis of a paid loan with an option to buy, whereby the Bianconeri would have to pay €3.5m for the loan and then €14m to make it permanent. There will be no obligation to buy, nor a conditional one upon the achievement of certain objectives.
The details regarding the bonuses (around €3m) and a future resale percentage have yet to be defined, as well as the contracts to be written, but things are well on the way. After yesterday’s telephone conversations between Giuntoli and Furlani, there will be others today.
The Frenchman arrived in Milan on a free transfer and could be a significant capital gain. Kalulu is just waiting for the green light to travel to Turin and undergo medical tests: the goal is to have him for the first match of the season, when Juventus will face Como on Monday at 20:45 at the Allianz Stadium.
Counterpart idea
There could be one of three players coming the other way, as the Juve-Milan axis has heated up. Federico Chiesa is one of them, a forward with a contract expiring in 2025 and who is out of the project at the moment.
In recent days, Chiesa was proposed to Milan, but there was no openness from the Rossoneri because of the €15m asking price and the fact that the Italian wants more than €6m net per season from his next club.
In the meantime, the name of Weston McKennie has emerged in the talks between the two clubs, another player who is not in Thiago Motta’s plans, and like Chiesa he only has one more year left on his contract. The Old Lady would like to avoid losing him for free and are trying to offload him.
Finally, Milan have given the No.9 shirt to Luke Jovic (it seems like an insurance move to confirm his stay), but if they found a striker with characteristics more suited to Paulo Fonseca’s style – like Tammy Abraham – they could still pounce.
This is why Arkadiusz Milik’s name has emerged. The Pole was absent against Atletico Madrid in Juve’s last friendly because he is not yet ready after an injury. Juve don’t want to offload him because he is the deputy to Dusan Vlahovic after Moise Kean’s sale, but a good offer could change things.
