Paulo Dybala and Franck Kessié are the latest Serie A stars to leave their clubs on a free transfer, but there’s one key difference between how Juventus and Milan conducted negotiations.
More and more Serie A players are leaving at the end of their contracts. A tendency that has further been highlighted by Dybala and Kessié walking away from Juventus and Milan in July. The Rossoneri star has already signed a contract with Barcelona, while Dybala has begun the search for a new home after being told by Juventus that he was no longer wanted at the club.
Contrary to Kessié, Dybala had initially agreed to sign a new deal with Juventus, but the Serie A giants withdrew their proposal after a few months. Maurizio Arrivabene has explained that Dybala is no longer the core of their project, which has changed pretty quickly given that Pavel Nedved had claimed in September that Juventus saw their No.10 as their future captain.
Report: Milan midfielder Kessie signs for Barcelona after medical
Kessié, on the other hand, has always been at the center of Milan’s technical project and the Rossoneri made the best offer they could afford. According to the latest reports, the Ivory Coast midfielder has signed a new €6.5m-a-year deal in Barcelona, a fee close to what Milan had put on the table. It is possible that agent fees again made the difference in negotiations, similar to last season when the Diavoli failed to tie Gigio Donnarumma down to a new contract. The Italy international eventually signed with PSG for an initial salary that is even lower than Milan had offered. (€7m fixed salary, plus €3m add-ons, Milan offered €8m).
The Diavoli wanted to keep him as much as they wished Hakan Calhanoglu and Kessié to stay. On the other hand, Juventus kicked Dybala out, changing their mind after reaching an agreement with the player who didn’t expect the club to turn their back on him. It may suggest that Juventus directors have uncertain ideas about how to develop the team in the long run, given that they completely changed their stance on Dybala in the space of six months. At the same time, the Argentinean looked the most important player after Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit in the summer but has struggled to justify his leadership status because of injuries and – perhaps – a not too strong personality inside the dressing room.
The question is now: how will Juventus replace Dybala? There are many names on the table, although it remains to be seen if the Old Lady will lose other assets up front as also Federico Bernardeschi seems set to leave Turin on a free transfer. In that case, Juventus would need a winger and an attacking midfielder or a Meazzala and it’s no coincidence that several top stars have been linked with a move to the Allianz Stadium: from Mohamed Salah to Paul Pogba, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Giacomo Raspadori, Renato Sanches and Nicolò Zaniolo.
Milan got a solid replacement for Donnarumma in Mike Maignan but somehow struggled to replace Calhanoglu. Brahim Diaz had a stunning start to the season but has dropped dramatically over the months, so Stefano Pioli used Franck Kessié in an attacking midfield position in a role renamed ‘false 10.’ Ironically, Milan’s primary target to replace Kessié is also on Juventus’ agenda: Renato Sanches, but the Rossoneri seem to be leading the Old Lady and Arsenal in the race to secure his services.
In fairness, Dybala would be the perfect piece to add to the current Milan side, but it remains to be seen if the Rossoneri could afford it, especially if Zlatan Ibrahimovic sticks around. Milan and Juventus took to different paths, which led them to the same end. Now it’s up to Federico Cherubini, Maurizio Arrivabene, Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara to build stronger teams without two of their main stars.
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