Transfer market, today’s news 16 July: Barcelona offers Kessie to Juve

TURIN. Things change, in the transfer market it happens often and even suddenly. Juve then had to go through two distinct phases, the one managed before the arrival of Cristiano Giuntoli and the one that began with the new football director. And while the Lukaku-Vlahovic intrigue holds the ground, just in the days in which the era of the non-squad began (from Bonucci onwards), in midfield they are working to score a thick shot. Adrien Rabiot’s contract was renewed, waiting for the evolution of the Pogba case, first Davide Frattesi and then Sergej Milinkovic-Savic vanished. So the list of top picks has changed, it’s being updated along the way. With Lamar Samardzic from Udinese, the new name disputed by the usual Inter and Napoli, with above all an old dot that is back in the news: it is Frank Kessié, leaving Barcelona after only one season.

Initial contacts with agents and intermediaries have already taken place in recent months, when at Juve the big targets already had other names and surnames. But now everything has changed, at least at Continassa. On the other hand, not much has changed on the Kessié front, who remains out of Xavi’s plans and continues to look for a new project, perhaps in Italy despite the super salary of almost 7 million net (without the Growth Decree) being a significant obstacle. With Barcelona who, while trying to defend the minimum valuation of 15-20 million, in a hurry to create space in the budget and therefore in the La Liga lists, seem willing to also open up to loans if necessary. And Juve then thought about it, carefully, while setting their stakes. First of all it is necessary to sell the redundancies, it is the three usual suspects (McKennie, Arthur and Zakaria) who have to make room for them in the workforce and in the budget. Then the tug of war with Barça can start, Juve aims at a loan with the right to buy, the Blaugrana are looking for solutions outright or on loan with a guaranteed or almost guaranteed buy-out obligation. The Bianconeri are in no hurry and that’s an advantage. But now the Kessié idea is once again topical. —