Cristiano Giuntoli is going after Teun Koopmeiners for the third summer in a row and appears willing to do whatever it takes to bring him to Juventus. Atalanta reportedly rejected €47M from Napoli two years ago. The Bianconeri tested the waters in 2023 but didn’t really have the budget for a major coup. They have way better chances this time around, but it’d come at a hefty cost.
While the director could not land him in the past, his relentless pursuit has reportedly created a tight rapport with him and his entourage. They haven’t shown interest in transferring to other sides so far. Liverpool are keen but didn’t find an opening.
The question is whether that will be enough for the deal to really come together and at what price. The Old Lady is one for two on lengthy chases this summer. They did snap up Thiago Motta. Instead, they moved on from Riccardo Calafiori, whom they had been tracking for months. They eventually realized that he would have been too pricey and that Bologna were unwilling to do them any favor. There’s a non-zero chance it will happen again despite the chatter.
The New-Look Midfield
The road to Koopmeiners is perilous and onerous for Juventus. However, after signing Khephren Thuram and Douglas Luiz, there has been no buzz about other midfielders. That is even should Adrien Rabiot turn down their proposal and flee. Considering his wages and up-and-down displays, they probably wouldn’t pull their hair out if that were the case.
The Bianconeri’s belt has been a sore spot for a few campaigns. Giuntoli acted quickly to address it, purchasing two all-around contributors. They weren’t cheap, but they were minor bargains because the figures were a little below market value thanks to the makeweights in the deal with Aston Villa and the Frenchman’s short-term contract with Nice. Still, they paid about €50M in cash in total. Thus, it’s fair to ask whether it’d be overkill to spend as much, or perhaps even more, for another man in the same role. The trio would jell well skill-wise. While not as physical as other players who have done it, he’s tailor-made to be the no.10 in Motta’s system. He has the smarts to dictate their whole posture depending on how deeply he drops back or how aggressively he lingers near the box.
Their management has been operating as if they have no midfielders on the squad. Some fans and critics would snidely agree with that. While they will probably find a way to offload Weston McKennie, Manuel Locatelli, Nicolò Fagioli, and Fabio Miretti are all likely to stay. Only the last one is a candidate for a loan departure. The former Sassuolo man is much maligned, and partly for good reasons, but at least he’s durable and takes care of the dirty work. He’ll improve with more talent around him and with fewer ball-handling duties. There are no reports about Juventus pulling their offer for Rabiot for now, so there would be a lot of traffic if he accepted it, and they still added Koopmeiners to the mix.
The Price Tag
Perhaps that should be the way to go, as the upcoming season will be grueling. Though, it’s also and chiefly a matter of resource management. Even if Atalanta might have promised to let him go a year ago, which isn’t so sure, they are fully in control. It’ll take €50/60M to persuade them. That’s massive for Serie A standards nowadays, even though his wages would be somewhat manageable.
La Dea has already won its gamble. It’s always a risk for teams that don’t swim in gold to turn down rich offers. Instead, Koopmeiners has kept thriving and arguably even went up a level in 2023/2024, becoming a superb cutter, which is remarkable for somebody who was playing very defensively earlier in his career and isn’t the most explosive guy, so the interest and determination from Juventus is more than justified.
The root of the problem is whether they have invested enough in the role already. It’d come at the expense of other roles. The Bianconeri have preached sustainability in the lead-up to the window. In reality, in the thick of it, while they have been negotiated harder than in previous eras, they have been throwing money left and right to close the gap with Inter.
Where Are The Money Coming From?
Perhaps the host of sales they anticipate will all come to fruition, lessening the economic burden. But, so far, Moise Kean has been the only one to depart for an okay but not over-the-top sum. If they don’t find a solution for further outcasts, they’ll have to cash in on their prodigies to foot the acquisition. That’s where the real doubts creep in.
They have done an impeccable job with youngsters and their Next Gen squad in recent years. The whole point would be for some youngsters to not only reach the first team but also become staples. Two products, Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea, who would have been useful, have already left. If Juventus want to seal the Koopmeiners deal in a hurry, the only way might be to sell Matias Soulé and Dean Huijsen, who have loads of potential and are ready to be regulars now, especially the former.
It’d be greatly advantageous financially since they came in for peanuts. However, the technical aspects also need to be taken into consideration. Even if they were on loan last year, they’d have to be replaced, especially the Argentine, because of their new scheme and scarcity of wingers. That wouldn’t be cheap, even if Giuntoli somehow manages to obtain advantageous formulas for top-notch additions. The check would still come due at some point.
A Potential Alternative Route
Atalanta are starting to eye prospective replacements, for instance, Celtic Glagsow’s Matt O’Riley and Frosinone’s Marco Brescianini, Fabrizio Romano reports. Therefore, the Juventus assault on Koopmeiners is coming despite the hurdles and valuation, which would make the signing a true albatross in today’s Serie A.
On the other hand, one has to wonder if it’d be more advisable to hold onto the prodigies, settle with what they already accomplished in the midfield, which is no small thing, and perhaps renew their efforts to keep Rabiot and/or onboard a budding creative midfielder at an affordable cost, for instance, Lazar Samardzic or someone with the same profile. The fact that very few Bergamaschi stars kept performing at the same level after leaving the nest is also a big red flag. Sticking the landing would greatly help them on the pitch and earn universal praise, as it’d send a loud message. However, it wouldn’t be an acquisition with no downside given its collateral damage.
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