Report: Juve sign Di Maria

Portuguese newspaper A Bola claims Juventus have signed Benfica's highly-rated attacking midfielder Angel Di Maria.

The 22-year-old Argentina international is widely regarded as one of the brightest talents in world football.

A Bola understands that Juventus have put together a deal worth €30m plus Tiago, the Portuguese midfielder who is currently on loan at Atletico Madrid.

However, the Turin Press isn't convinced by the story, especially for the sum of money involved and the fact Juventus already have players like Diego and Felipe Melo.

Last week, Argentine newspaper Ole also claimed that Real Madrid had already wrapped up a transfer for Di Maria ahead of this summer's transfer window.

Juventus' scouts have watched Di Maria on several occasions and Tuttosport believes that they have told the club's directors back in Turin that he is worth between €12m and €15m, nothing more.

http://www.football-italia.net/may7k.html

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This has BS all over it imo.

It looks like Simone Padoin (Atalanta) and Andrea Masiello (Bari) will accompany Juventus on the North American tour.

Some might remember Masiello as he came through our youth system, he is a strong right back or central defender. Padoin is a left back or left midfielder who can also play more centrally if required.

Juve work on Palombo bid



Juventus' new boss Gigi Del Neri would reportedly like to make Sampdoria midfielder Angelo Palombo his first signing for the club.

Del Neri left Sampdoria yesterday and was instantly reunited with the Blucerchiati's former director general Beppe Marotta who he worked with until only a couple of days ago.

The two men are charged with rebuilding Juventus and intend to do so by raiding their former team, much to the annoyance of Sampdoria President Riccardo Garrone.

Il Corriere dello Sport understands that Del Neri has told Marotta he would like to bring Palombo to Turin and build Juventus' midfield around him.

Marotta intends to recall Sergio Almiron from Bari and offer him to Sampdoria in exchange for Palombo.

The 28-year-old Sampdoria captain is valued at around €18m, so Juventus will also have to stump up a significant amount in cash if they are to lure him away from Marassi.

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€18m We should offer them Almiron + €5m and be done with it. I like Palombo but he is not worth a lot of money at 28.

another defensive mid i guess?.. we already have enough junks in tiago..momo..poulsen zzz.. and theres still melo =/ wtb creative attacking ones like Silva!

If you believe the rumours then Poulsen and Melo could be sold, so we might need one in. But firstly, defenders then wide attacking midfielders!

lol yea.. shoulda only keep chilleni and junk the rest! any idea when can the co-ownership of Criscito get settled?

It seems that we might well bring him back this summer, there has to be a decision on it either way because his co-ownership deal is up. If the clubs can't agree a deal then it goes to a blind auction.

Criscito is a good left back, better than Grosso, but he is more of a defensive fullback than an attacking one.

Other players we have been linked to:

- Simone Pepe, attacking midfielder (Udinese) €12m - he's ok but nothing special, hard working and can creates chances
- Luisao, central defender (Benfica) €7m - overrated and not the answer
- Simon Kjær, central defender (Palermo) €12m - good young defender, we have good relations with Palermo and they will deal, plus they didn't make the CL
- James Rodriguez, winger (Banfield) €5m - young Colombian attacker that we were set to sign, put on hold while we bring the new coaching team in
- Milos Krasic, winger (CSKA Moscow) €15m - very good and highly rated right winger, other teams are after him, would be a good buy
- Juan Zuniga, fullback/midfielder (Napoli) €8m - attacking fullback or wingback, he's pretty good, better than what we have
- Antonio Cassano, forward (Sampdoria) €15m - everyone knows his good and bad points
- Giampaolo Pazzini, striker (Sampdoria) €18m - goalscorer, maybe not good enough for Juve just yet
- Edin Dzeko, striker (Wolfsburg) €30m - very highly sought after super striker, a gamble at that price
- Reto Ziegler, left back/midfield (Sampdoria) €7m - young Spurs flop with a good left foot, not good enough imo
- Federico Marchetti, goalkeeper (Cagliari) €12m - Italy's second best, only if Buffon left of course, unlikely
- David De Gea, goalkeeper (Atletico Madrid) €12m - Spain wonderkid goalkeeper, too young for this role though imo
- Diego Lopez, goalkeeper (Villarreal) €12m, very good keeper, a possible option for Buffon
- Phillipe Mexes, central defender (Roma) €8m, out of favour at Roma, also a complete cock
- Mattia Cassani, fullback (Palermo) €7m, former Juventus youth player, seems quite strongly linked, good right back
- Simone Corchia, fullback (Le Mans) €8m, talented young French right back, our scouts have watched him
- Alexandr Kolarov, fullback (Lazio) €13m, attacking left back with powerful shot, Inter are probably closer
- Bacary Sagna, fullback (Arsenal) €15m, unlikely to leave Arsenal and CL for us
- Andrea Masiello, fullback/central defender (Bari) €5m, another former Juve youth player, will join us on US tour next week
- Leonardo Bonucci, central defender (Bari) €12m, very good young Italy international, an option
- Gaetano D'Agostino, midfielder (Udinese) €15m, nearly joined last year but we went with Melo, unlikely
- Arjen Robben, winger (Bayern) €20m, unlikely to want to join us and injury prone, risky
- Juan Vargas, fullback/winger (Fiorentina) €15m, one of the best widemen in the league
- Simone Padoin, left back/midfielder (Atalanta) €4m, another one going on the US tour
- Brandão, central defender (Siena) €4m, another on the US tour
- Valon Behrami, midfielder (West Ham) €7m, versatile and could be an option
- Raffaele Palladino, forward (Genoa) €3m, co-own return, he's nothing special
- Robin van Persie, forward (Arsenal) €20m, a swap deal with Melo has been mentioned, unlikely
- Juan Antonio Reyes, forward (Atletico Madrid) €12m, another swap deal mentioned, with Diego, unlikely again
- Diego Forlan, forward (Atletico Madrid) €20m, probably only mentioned because he scored in the Europa League final
- Javier Mascherano, midfield (Liverpool) €20m, over now Benitez deal is dead

I personally would love criscito back~ and from the list of players i'd take cassani and vargas ~ kjaer and dzeko would be nice too XD

Juve make offer for Vargas



Juventus have reportedly made an offer to sign Fiorentina's Peruvian wing-back Juan Manuel Vargas.

The Bianconeri are in the process of overhauling their squad after one of the worst seasons on record.

Changes have already been made at board level and it's now time for Juventus to put their new transfer strategy into practice.

The club's new director general Beppe Marotta has apparently identified Vargas as the centrepiece of that strategy given the Peru international's ability to play at full-back or further forward.

Juventus are keen to return to playing a 4-4-2 next season and have made signing wide players a priority this summer.

Marotta is said to have offered Fiorentina €20m for the 26-year-old who has also been linked with Real Madrid.

Fiorentina are expected to fund their own summer spending spree with the sale of one of their stars and Vargas is arguably their most lucrative asset.

football-italia.net

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Vargas is excellent, but €20m? I guess if Madrid go for Mourinho he will want Kolarov, which may lessen the competition for Vargas.

He is more of a LM, but I'm sure Madrid would have look at Vargas as a LB/LWB in their system.

20M is crazy money for Vargas. And here Europe is supposed to be on the brink of an economic downturn... Vargas was definitely quality in the CL against Bayern. Probably the best thing on Fiorentina last season. But what's the real cost of getting him? Probably going to be cash and YET ANOTHER Juventus youth prospect. Cool. Yeah, because letting them have Marchionni for Melo was awesome.

I read some Aquilani-Melo swap rumours the other day, thoughts?

I know we like Aquilani, but surely Melo will get another season, Aquilani is a crock as well

Yeah, i think Aquilani will probably stay another season too. But if both clubs wanted to get rid a swap would be sensible, to avoid taking a big loss.

The choice of targets, according to Tuttoshit.

Tomorrow the club are having an important meeting, supposedly on the signing of a big player.

I can't see signing van parsley, he's too valuable to Arseholes to let go, along with Theeeeeoooo. Aguero is a good target and a possibility but a very high transfer fee, along with Silva who would be needed. Obi Mikel would be a stupid signing as he's a turd player and shouldn't be playing for Chelsea, let alone in the prem. Di Maria from what I heard is quite the player from what I heard and would command a high fee. The rest, Suarez, Kacar, Tasci, Kießling, would be good additions for the aging attacking.

Milos Krasic, 25 year old Serbian right winger who plays for CSKA Moscow. He is valued at about €15m and is being strongly linked in both the Serbia and Italian papers, some on Juve sites even saying he will sign within a week, but who knows.

He would certainly suit Del Neri's favoured 4-4-2 setup.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKKgbERdOM

Another 'almost done' deal, Leonardo Bonucci, the 23 year old Bari and Italy defender. It seems it might be a really big price tag. The lad is really good, although I'm not certain how well he would work with Chiellini. Both are tall and quite rugged although, Bonucci is less so and is a bit more composed. It would be the future Italy defence, along with Andrea Ranocchia. Juve also want to bring back Criscito for left back and sign Marco Motta from Roma, so it could be an all-Italian defence.

Right now any defensive signings is an improvement for you guys.

Pretty much.

He was a serie a team of the year defender, wasn't he? Good signing.

And something tells me that they would not have problems getting Motta, which is sad for Roma, because they want to pay out the ass for Burdisso.

Del Neri sets sights on Martinez



Juventus boss Gigi Del Neri has identified Catania's outside forward Jorge Martinez as one of his principal transfer targets this summer.

Il Corriere dello Sport understands that Juventus yesterday made contact with Catania about the prospect of signing the Uruguay international.

Juventus intend to play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 next season and need to stock up on wide players if the move is to be a successful one.

They have been linked with the likes of Angel Di Maria, David Silva and Juan Manuel Vargas, but all three appear to be too expensive.

Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta believes Martinez is something of a bargain and has the ability to replace Mauro Camoranesi.

Marotta will speak with his counterparts in Catania over the next few days and could offer Michele Paolucci in exchange.

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Martinez for Paolucci would be daylight robbery, we'd have to throw some money in. I like the idea of going for proven South Americans in Serie A, looks at how well Vargas and others have done stepping up. We should get him now before others do, he's a versatile player and very talented.

Miloš Krasić seems to be getting closer, looks like they are just haggling over some details, although CSKA perhaps wisely are saying they might wait until after the WC as his price may go up. Right now Juve are very serious and some are interested, for about €15m.

Hopefully he's as good as his price tag assumes, that's a lot of money to be plopping down on a player, especially one who's in the Russian League.

At his best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKKgbERdOM

I've seen him in live games and he is a good outlet, could be perfect in Del Neri's setup. I haven't seen him play badly many times, he has a lot of similar qualities to Nedved and even looks a bit like him. Obviously he is right footed, is faster than Nedved and doesn't have as good a shot. Apparently Dejan Savicevic had planned to get him and Edin Dzeko to Milan as they would be big superstars but Milan don't have the money at the moment.

He has the same look as Nedved as well, should sign him for the hair

From what I've seen in the clip he has a knack of finding great position and good touch on the ball with passes. His shots are a little wonky but when he's got an open one he can bury it.

He's a good player, I think he would suit Italy and Juve perfectly, a hard working player who is not too flashy, can get back and also has energy.

Anyway Sky (Italia) are saying the deal is done, but they are not reliable like Sky in England, they do report some mid-deal reports rather than finished ones. They also say that Juve will go in with a mega bid for Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko. Krasic and Dzeko would be fantastic, but I don't hold my breath as far as these deals are reported.

I can see us selling both Trezeguet and Iaquinta this summer, only keeping Amauri and Del Piero, plus bringing Immobile through from the Primavera.

Hope he's not too immobile

If you signed both this Krasic and Dzeko, I don't think, other than a defender or two, you would need to sign much else as you'd be running up on money spent. You have holding midfielders out the butt so creative midfielders are the only thing to really fill in. Someone on the left maybe?

Fans are hoping that Giovinco gets a shot, but apparently Simone Pepe is close (more of a right winger as well). It looks like Del Neri might use Diego as a second striker, unless he involves him in a crazy trade. Vargas is the preferred option for the left but apparently Real Madrid, Inter and Man City want him as well, so unlikely.

Sky Italia just said earlier that the Krasic deal was 'done' at €16m, but I don't trust them.

The club should free up a lot in sales and freeing wages this summer, should be several changes.

Apparently head scout Fabio Paratici was in Germany to negotiate for Andreas Beck, as well as Marotta for Dzeko. Believe that if you will.

On the same day he was supposedly in Milan/Madrid talking to Atletico about selling them Tiago, the papers came up with a Diego-Aguero swap deal as well.

Pepe is pretty much a done deal, hopefully for not too much.

Krasic is still a possibility, looks like Pepe would be used wide left/rotation.

Beck would be a nice defensive addition at right back if you did grab him up.

Some good news on Krasic. It seems that the agreement is in place with CSKA and the player, it's just his THREE greedy agents who are stalling the deal. Apparently Fenerbahce offered them a tonne of money and they wanted him to go there (pathetic really), but he is set on joining Juve and the clubs have to reach a compromise. Inter tried to scupper the deal at the last minute as Rafa Benitez really likes him, but it is not far from being done. Hopefully we finalise it.

Possibly two big deals in the next week, if the other one is Dzeko I will be chuffed to bits, he seems to prefer Juve to Man City but City may bump the bid up and Wolfsburg will auction him.

Juve close to Krasic



Sections of the Italian media believe Juventus already have a deal with CSKA Moscow's highly regarded winger Milos Krasic.

The Bianconeri plan to play 4-4-2 next season with an emphasis on the flanks, making it imperative that they have the personnel to do so.

Krasic has been likened to Pavel Nedved who retired last year. Juventus never replaced him, focusing on playing through Diego in the middle.

Both Il Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport understand that a deal is in a very advanced stage and all that's missing are signatures.

Juventus' new director general Beppe Marotta has also apparently intrigued Krasic with the prospect of not just playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, but also being part of a new and ambitious project.

Marotta is pushing to close the deal as soon as possible in order to beat competition from Inter and Manchester City.

He is said to have offered CSKA €12m-€15m in installments or the possibility of exchanging Krasic for Vincenzo Iaquinta, although the latter option seems unlikely.

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Just pay the €15m, we have a lot of shit to shift this summer, we are saving €20m a year in wages from Cannavaro, Almiron, Tiago, Camoranesi, Trezeguet, Grosso, Caceres and Zebina and maybe as much as that in transfer fees.

'Martinez should expect Juve call'



Catania administrator delegate Pietro Lo Monaco is waiting to here from Juventus about their interest in Uruguayan winger Jorge Martinez.

It's no secret Juventus are working on playing a 4-4-2 formation next season and need to stock up on wingers if they are to make it a success.

Juventus have already been strongly linked with CSKA Moscow winger Milos Krasic, but that doesn't negate their interest in Martinez who is particularly versatile, operating across the midfield and the attack.

Catania are resigned to losing Martinez after an excellent season at the Angelo Massimino as Martinez has no shortage of suitors with Napoli, Genoa, Lazio and Manchester City also chasing him.

“I know that Bianconeri like him. I know that they respect him,” Lo Monaco said. “As for the rest, I don't dare imagine what an attack could be like with Simone Pepe and Jorge Martinez on the wings.

“Those two together would be in a position to guarantee consistency, strength, technique, speed and an ability to score goals. Martinez has shown more than Pepe that he has a gift in front of goal in recent years.

“We know that the moment has arrived to allow Jorge to put himself on show at a big club.”

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I called Martinez a while ago, well not literally, think he will arrive.

Criscito set for Juve return



Juventus' new boss Gigi Del Neri would like to see Domenico Criscito return to the club on a permanent basis, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The 23-year-old is co-owned by Genoa and has spent the last two seasons at Marassi carving out a reputation for versatility, as he can play in defence and in midfield.

Juventus have to make a decision on his future in the coming weeks as well as that of Raffaele Palladino who is also co-owned by Genoa.

La Gazzetta understands that Juventus will now leave Palladino at Marassi and bring Criscito back to Turin on or before June 25.

Meanwhile, they are waiting for Genoa to resolve their co-ownership of Leonardo Bonucci with Bari.

Genoa are expected to bring the Italy international back to Marassi, only to sell him on to Juventus, possibly in exchange for Davide Lanzafame and Paolo De Ceglie.

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Good, he's better than Grosso and De Ceglie, lacks in a couple of areas (pace and strength quite average) but with offensive wingers in front of him that doesn't matter.

Krasic likes Juve offer

Milos Krasic likes Juventus' offer and its now up to the Turin giants to reach an agreement with CSKA Moscow, according to the player's agent.

The Serbia international would represent a big coup for Juventus as he is widely regarded as one of the best wingers on the continent and a successor to Pavel Nedved.

Speaking to the Russian media, Dejan Joksimovic said: “There is interest on Manchester United's and Arsenal's behalf, but at the moment, there hasn't been anything concrete.

“As of today, the only offers have come from Fenerbahce and Juventus. The Turks don't particularly interest Milos, and they offer almost double with respect to the others. But Krasic is not particularly enthusiastic about playing in Turkey.

“He is certainly more attracted to the Juventus hypothesis. First of all because next season Juve want to create a great team and also because the Bianconeri have been the most decisive and have already proposed a contract to Milos.

“The player likes the Bianconeri's offer so now it's up to Juve and CSKA to find an agreement. I don't believe that the Russians want to block the deal. They know that Krasic has given a lot to CSKA and that the time has come for him to leave.

“He would like to sign a contract before the World Cup. Maybe that agreement can be signed in South Africa in the next few days. But maybe it will all be postponed until after the World Cup as this would also have a certain logic to it from our point of view because the World Cup would be an important window for Krasic and it could increase the number of clubs interested in him.”

When asked if Krasic is worth €15m as reported in the Italian Press, Joksimovic said: “This was the price given around two months ago, but it's obvious that the interest of clubs like Juve and Inter might have raised the price.

“But I don't believe it can be over €20m,” he concluded.

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Spurs want Iaquinta.

Several teams want Diego, he might only go to Bayern.

Amauri has a couple of offers too.

Camoranesi turned down River Plate.

Not sure where Trez is going, Deschamps wants him at Marseille but he would need a massive wage cut.

I can see Diego leaving to Bayern in the case that Ribery is sold. Camo is an old turd and I can see him settling out of Europe, I can't see him playing for a big club anymore because he's over the hill and he was horrible this last season. Trez can still go anywhere and play at the top level, just needs service.

The number one target for Juve is still Dzeko. Apparently we spoke to Wolfsburg's directors about him yesterday, they want €30m or maybe more if Man City come in. Dzeko seems more keen on Juve, and we could offer Wolfsburg a player or two as well as the idea that we will leave Kjær and Cavani alone for them to spend the Dzeko money on.

Who would you be willing to give up for Dzeko? He's a great player to add because you need some height and youth in the squad but I'd assume it would cost a lot, player and wage wise.

http://www.lastampa.it/sport/cmsSezioni/qu...27336girata.asp

La Stampa is quite a reliable source, they seem to think it is on the cards but say €40m Juve would give up Amauri (Zenit also want him) or Giovinco, although you can't guarantee players would move there.

Juve measure Dzeko approach

Juventus are measuring their approach for Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko amid competition from Europe's biggest clubs.

The 24-year-old Bosnia international is arguably the most in-demand striker on the continent, but his €40m price tag is prohibitive.

Juventus President Andrea Agnelli reportedly met with his general manager Beppe Marotta at the weekend to discuss their strategy.

Marotta either plans to wait until enough money has been raised from selling the likes of David Trezeguet, Amauri, Diego and Momo Sissoko or move quickly and beat the competition.

Last week, there were reports that Juventus got encouraging signs from Wolfsburg about the prospect of swapping Diego for Dzeko plus a lump sum.

However, the Brazilian trequartista isn't keen on a move to Wolfsburg and would only consider joining Bayern Munich if he did eventually return to the Bundesliga

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Maybe this one will be too much, but he'd be perfect and we'd have to move quickly. We are already saving €20m p/a in wages on players who are definitely leaving or left (Chimenti, Almiron, Zebina, Cannavaro, Molinaro, Grosso, Caceres, Tiago, Almiron, Camoranesi, Trezeguet), it looks like Diego will also be sold, and if guys like Amauri, De Ceglie, Giovinco, Paolucci are sold or part-exchanged then we will still have a lot of room in terms of finances.

Two other guys who have been the most strongly linked in the last couple of weeks, fullbacks!:



Dennis Aogo, Germany left back who plays for Hamburg, 23 years old and seems to suit our setup. An athletic left back who can get forward and defend.



Marco Motta, Roma right back, 24 years old and who doesn't always get picked by Ranieri for some reason. Very comfortable going forward and has been linked before, I like him.

I thought Caceres had some potential to be a really good centre back?

As for the two full backs, Aogo is quality and he's an athlete all around. He can do the job on the left and he wouldn't fail to impress. Motta would also be key to sign.

It seems Barca might want too much for Caceres, or the new team have other ideas. He is a central defender-turned right back, as you say. Not great going forward but looks to have potential to be a good centre back, if a bit reckless. It looks like Del Neri wants fullbacks who are more likely to run the flanks. If you look at his Samp team he was set up like this:



Two proper wingers, two fullbacks who liked to get forward, one creative midfielder, one defensive midfielder, one centre forward and one second striker playing off him. It'll be very similar at Juve I'm sure, although it can be mixed up with the strikers and also a tactical change to 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-1-2, the team needs to be both disciplined at the right time as well as being fluid enough to not become rigid and predictable as Capello's Juve used to be. Football is slightly different now.


I'm sure he wants a Juve to look similar to this, even if the players are not the same:

Can you not play Diego off the striker? Or are his days numbered?

That is what many want Del Neri to do, he could be very good there and played a similar role at Werder Bremen which is why he had so many goals and assists, although it is worth noting that Italian football is different and there is less space in this area. Diego started to drop into virtually central midfield, but maybe that is just because there were already two strikers ahead of him. I think the managers just see an opportunity to make a lot of money on a player they think would be more of a luxury. He's a great player and will prove it, somewhere.

Juventus Working To Extend Antonio Candreva Stay - Agent



Juventus are in no mood to relinquish the services of Antonio Candreva as they work to extend his loan deal from Udinese.

The player's agent Andrea Moretti has confirmed the two clubs are in negotiations over the possibility of the 23-year-old staying in Turin for another season.

"Udinese and Juventus are speaking about Antonio and they will bring the situation forward," he told Calciomercato.it

"We have to wait and see if they can reach an agreement between themselves, I cannot comment on their negotiations.

"Juventus can use their option to extend the deal but they have to do it by June 23. We will see what happens."

The agent then said Candreva's will is to continue at the club.

"Every player wants to play at Juventus," he concluded.

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I like Candreva a lot, but the €14m Udinese want is getting quite ridiculous. He isn't that valuable in the current market, but they can see his potential player. He is versatile, skillful, hard working and always makes things happen. Throw in the fact he is Italian and 23 and this is a model Juve player.

Well if €14 million is what it costs to have a long haul player than why not? It's balancing on ice with that kind of money though. €10 million you can almost get away with but if he pans out for 5-7 years, it was more than worth it.

Juve serious about Gallas



Juventus are reportedly very close to signing France international centre-back William Gallas on a free transfer.

The 32-year-old is out of contract at Arsenal and his existing deal will not be renewed, sparking interest across Europe.

Paris Saint Germain and Panathinaikos are among the frontrunners, but Juventus are said to have an edge and even expect to close a deal on Monday.

Juventus' general manager Beppe Marotta is apparently prepared to offer Gallas a two-year contract worth €2m a season.

The former Chelsea defender likes the proposal and more importantly the project set out by Juventus.

The Bianconeri are overhauling their squad this summer.

Simone Pepe was announced as their first signing of the summer yesterday and more are expected to follow.

http://www.football-italia.net/jun10e.html

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I'd take him as a rotation players he's versatile and experienced. The problem is he might want to be guaranteed to start and he has temperament issues.