Once they terminated Gonzalo Higuain’s contract and the Argentine decided to join David Beckham at Inter Miami, it was clear that Juventus would look for a replacement and be active in their pursuit.
Andrea Pirlo was eager to bring in Luis Suarez from Barcelona. The Uruguayan will be a free agent next summer, has been deemed surplus to requirements by Ronald Koeman, and is not giving up on the lucrative contract of which he has 12 months left to enjoy.
Personal terms had already been agreed and it was only some essential paperwork that needed to be finalized. But life as we know it can be very unpredictable. Suarez is yet to take his Italian language test and get himself an Italian passport while also negotiating an exit from Camp Nou.
As things stand, nothing is working out on that front and with the new season set to begin soon, Juventus need to get themselves a proven number 9.
And this is where things get a wee bit complicated. Roma striker Edin Dzeko is more closer to take his belongings to Turin than the Uruguayan. The Bosnian is eager to make the switch since that would represent his last chance to win any major silverware.
Dzeko is as prolific as they come.
Since arriving in Italy from Manchester City in 2015, Dzeko has scored 88 goals in the Serie A and has provided 32 assists. Clearly the Bosnian was always made to play in Italy and it is a shame that he spent only five years in the Belpaese.
His record in the last two Champions League he played in for Roma also shows that Dzeko can add more potency to the Juventus attack.
Now that is definitely a great acquisition. Even at the age of 34, Dzeko has something to offer and his experience will be valued a lot by Pirlo.
But……there is another issue that needs to be addressed.
The arrival of Victor Osimhen at Napoli has pretty much ended Arkadiusz Milik’s chances of realizing his potential. Roma are willing to sign the Polish international but the problem is that he isn’t so eager to move to the capital club and is apparently holding out for a move to Juventus who haven’t really shown any interest.
Juve clearly want to sign Dzeko but the player has to wait and see whether Milik eventually joins Roma or not.
Roma want 15M euros to part ways with the veteran number 9 and, to offset the cost, the Old Lady is willing to offer the services of Mattia de Sciglio. De Sciglio is likely to spend most of the time on the bench or the stands next season so is unlikely to require a lot of convincing.
But everything at this point in time hinges on Milik making a call. Juventus don’t seem to be going for a long term option at the moment and since Dzeko is thinking along the same lines, this makes sense.
One can only hope that Napoli don’t end up adding more to an already complex situation by demanding an unreasonable amount for their wantaway striker.