With just five weeks to go until the start of the 2023/24 Serie A campaign, the transfer market is heating up all over Europe, and that means troubled Juventus could soon be losing two of its biggest stars.
While former chairman Andrea Agnelli has been hit by a 16-month ban by the Italian Football Federation for his alleged role if financial misreporting by the club, the Old Lady is coming to terms with a season without Champions League football, and that means her financial woes are about to get more difficult.
Juventus will have to balance the books, and that means a likely exit for two of the club’s prized assets.
Juve striker Dusan Vlahovic is being tracked by Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur as a potential replacement for Harry Kane, who is once again being linked with a move away from North London.
But Spurs are not the only club interested in the Serbian star. Chelsea are also keen and may look to sing Vlahovic as part of an exchange deal with out-of-form striker Romelu Lukaku going the other way.
The other man Juventus may have to sell is Azzurri star Federico Chiesa, who has attracted interest from both Liverpool and Newcastle United, and the job facing the Bianconeri money men is to get full value for any sales.’
Both Vlahovic and Chiesa are big earners, so it makes sense for the club to offload them, particularly as head coach Max Allegri has never really seen eye-to-eye with either of them, and the players are valued at €60 million for Chiesa and €80 million for Vlahovic.
The fee for the Serb would allow Juve to recoup most of the money they paid Fiorentina to bring him to Turin in January 2022.
The pre-season Serie A 2023 betting oddsdon’t really fancy the Old Lady to challenge for the Scudetto, but there is some good news in Turin (if you can call it that) in that Paul Pogba has apparently decided to turn down a move to Saudi Arabia and instead fight for his place a Juventus.
The French midfielder thinks it will give him a better chance of making the Euro 24 championships in Germany, but he needs to shake off the inconsistency he has suffered from at Manchester United and, to some extent, last season with the Bianconeri.
Pulisic moves closer to Milan
In other Serie A 2023 news, AC Milan’s recruitment drive continues apace as Chelsea star Christian Pulisic is on the verge of making his move to the San Siro. The Stars and Stripes star is ready to undertake a medical in Milan which will seal a move to Serie A, providing Chelsea are happy with the fee, which is rumoured to be around £22 million.
This is another example of Chelsea’s odd transfer strategy. They paid £58 million to bring Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in 2019, but after the Blues signed a bucketful of midfielders last season, Pulisic struggled to hold down his place, making 25 appearances.
And now he looks ready to follow teammate Ruben Loftus Cheek to the San Siro Stadium. Pulisic leaves Stamford Bridge with a Champions League medal but, apart from that, it has been a frustrating four years in West London for the American who has seen a change in ownership and direction with managers coming and going with alarming regularity.
It seems he isn’t part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, and Pulisic is keen to push the move through in time for pre-season.
In 2019, he generated the highest fee paid for an American player, but now it’s time for him to move on. And at 24 years of age, Pulisic has his best years to come.
There are plenty of tasty fixtures to come in Italy, particularly in September. Take a look at the SBOTOP blogs to see which else of the big guns come head-to-head over the early games.
But one eye-catcher is the Milan Derby on 16th September, and alongside Pulisic, there may be another new star in an advanced midfield role pushing for a start for the Rossoneri.
Following the news that Sandro Tonali is bound for Newcastle, AC Milan have been looking for a like-for-like replacement and have identified AZ Alkmaar star Tijjani Reijnders as a potential fit.
The 24-year-old has been with Alkmaar since he was 17, loaned out for much of that time, but also making 93 appearances and scoring seven goals for his parent club.
Alkmaar value Reijnders highly and have turned down an initial offer of €20 million, holding out of €25 million, and now the Dutch club awaits Milan’s response. I Rossoneri look likely to reach an agreement with Alkmaar and the player is keen to join the Italian giants, so a speedy deal will allow the selling club to find a replacement.
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