Despite the rumors coming from England, Juventus are not close to signing Nemanja Matic. The Serbian midfielder announced that he would leave Manchester United on a free by rescinding his contract early. After his words, he has quickly been linked to a reunion with José Mourinho in Roma.
According to The Daily Star, the Bianconeri and the 33-year-old are closing in on a multi-year contract with €4.5M wages. It would be less than his current €7.3M salary. However, the Serie A club would compensate with a €11M signing bonus.
Yet, it does not appear that will be the case. According to Goal’s Romeo Agresti, Juventus are not negotiating to bring in Matic. They pursued him in the past, as other Serie A sides did, but his performances have slipped as he aged. Roma have reportedly the same doubts about onboarding him. However, they have been keener than the Bianconeri in adding veterans since they hired the Special One.
The plans of the Old Lady to bolster the midfield remains up in the air. They are debating whether to purchase a pure deep-lying playmaker or a prolific box-to-box midfielder. In any scenario, they intend to keep one of their youngsters, Fabio Miretti, Nicolò Rovella or Nicolò Fagioli, on the roster.
Juventus have been connected to another Premier League player in the same position on top of Matic, Thomas Partey. Arsenal offered him in exchange for Arthur, AS reports. The Bianconeri will listen to the bids for the Brazilian international in the summer.