Nicolò Zaniolo’s transfer from Roma to Juventus could be finalised this week, according to reports in Italy.
The midfielder has been heavily linked with a move away from the Italian capital since his goal which clinched the Europa Conference League in May.
Initially, Milan were mooted as a potential destination but it appears he will move to Juventus now.
And Alfredo Pedullà suggests a meeting could even be set up between the relevant parties to finalise the deal by Thursday.
The report suggests the two clubs will hash out a loan deal with an option – masquerading as an obligation – to sign for €50 million.
Should the two clubs fail to agree on a fee, Pedullà refuses to rule out the possibility of a player exchange, adding that Roma boss José Mourinho is a fan of Juve midfielder Denis Zakaria, who arrived last January.
Young Juve midfielder Filippo Ranocchia is another potential option for a makeweight but Juve are determined to find a deal which would be straight cash, according to the report.
As a Roma fan, I am not sure if I am disappointed or pleased to see him go. Before the two ACL injuries he was a beast. Last season (for all my sins) I watched nearly all the Roma matches and Zaniolo was often very selfish, he also lost a lot of balls just running optimistically into opposition players and also (sometimes unfairly) got booked a lot. Yes, there were occasional moments of brilliance but it was fairly limited. He could of course turn into the best player in Italy but I am not so sure. 60m for a player with 4 goals last season, a slightly dodgy attitude and two ACL injuries in one year could be good business for Roma.
Once upon a time this would have been a great move for the young man. Nowadays Juve does not have the same appeal. Even the Dutch Phil Jones knows the ship is sinking. He used his 3 years wisely to learn nothing, his game never improved, but he might be reborn at a bigger club. As for Zaniolo, PhD Max and his ancient Latin manuscripts in the “Feng Shui” back to the future, back, back, down, down awaits.
@Calogero- he can beat a man – which chiesa is the only person at juve who can do this – you also got to remember he’s at roma with not much quality. Now with Chiesa and Vlahovic he can improve those stats
I can’t get over some Juve fans. They keep saying how Roma has no quality. Name one Juve player better than Lorenzo Pellegrini, aside perhaps Chiesa. At Roma Zaniolo played alongside Abraham and Miki too, all top level players. The fact that Juve can’t find a player to put into the deal shows how Juve’s level has dropped. Sure, they win stuff a fair bit, with tons of cash spent and great facilitites, but in spite of that the current, I repeat current, level of the two sides is not that far apart.