Beppe Marotta's First Move Sets the Tone For This Summer's Mercato

In this fast-paced world of social media, breaking news is online within seconds and, as a result, spreads like absolute wildfire when a large group of people — like, say, Juventini on Twitter — get wind of it. Within minutes, everybody's talking and subsequently looking for any kind of source that will confirm what the first outlet had just reported..

That was pretty much the case when the news of Kwadwo Asamoah and Mauricio Isla being on the brink of a move to Juventus first hit the interwebs early Tuesday. The first thought was, "Yeah, but it's Tuttosport!!!" Which is smart, seeing as Tuttosport has teased us once or twice (or 10,000 times) in the past.

But once Claudio Zuliani — Twitter's resident Juventus insider — jumped on it not once, but twice, it was pretty safe to say that Juventus' first two signings of the summer were basically wrapped up and ready to put their signature on the dotted line.

And what a couple of fine players Beppe Marotta has brought to Torino — although we're still waiting for the official post on juventus.com.

Signing both Asamoah and Isla means one thing and one thing only — Juventus' objective in this transfer market is crystal clear. There is no settling. There is no waiting around. Marotta clearly saw the opportunity to swoop quickly for both highly-rated players and took full advantage of it, landing them at reasonable prices while other big-time clubs drop crazy bucks on ego-centric Belgians who flirts with every EPL club on Twitter.

For Marotta and Juve as a whole, it's a fantastic start to a very important transfer campaign. It's one thing to identify your potential targets, it's another to get them signed. And in a summer where Juventus is looking to bring in top-quality talent, this is certainly one heck of a way to start. He has not only brought in one of the quality young midfielders in Asamoah, but also a versatile wingback and midfielder in Isla. That's a Director General who knows what his club needs and goes out and gets it.

And for the price — rumored to be co-ownership around a combined €15 million — you can't find much to complain about. I know I'm not.

A key figure in what's so appealing is — at least to me — about these two players: Asamoah and Isla are both just 23 years old. That's right, they're still working towards their peak value as players — and I'm not talking about on the transfer market. Both of them are young, and while vastly experienced in Serie A, still approaching what would be considered the prime of their respective careers.

We saw how Arturo Vidal truly blossomed once he became comfortable in Antonio Conte's system, and it's not far-fetched to think that Asamoah will be the same way. While maybe not the same kind of goal-scoring record that King Arturo does, Asamoah is an experienced, defensive-minded midfielder who could easily slot in and be an effective player right now. And once he's well-versed with how Conte plays, it will be a beautiful thing.

The same can be said for Isla, who is able to play both centrally and on the wing when Conte goes with his dynamic 3-5-2 formation. Isla is arguably a better option as a right wingback than Stephan Lichtsteiner is right now (come at me, bro) and could give our resident Swiss Tank a run for his money come preseason training next month.

Conte has even more options than before — and some damn good ones at that. This is how a championship-winning club reinforces its roster, folks.

The bottom line in all of this? Big Poppa Beppe means business. And you gotta like the business he is doing.