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Based on the chatter coming out of Italy these days, Álvaro Morata isn't the only player who is getting ready to put his signature on a contract with Juventus. It started with a tweet from Sky Sport Italia's Gianluca Di Marzio as we headed into the late-night hours on Wednesday and only went from there.
The consensus: Juan Iturbe is on the doorstep of becoming a Juventus player.
Vabbè...comunque quando andremo in onda, le notizie non mancheranno: @juventusfc e @HellasVeronaFC nuovo contatto per @Juan_iturbe93: 27 mil
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) July 9, 2014
#Juve. Intesa di massima con il #Verona per #Iturbe. Costerà 25 mln più 2 di bonus con criteri ancora da definire. Poi l'annuncio #gds
— Carlo Laudisa (@carlolaudisa) July 9, 2014
The general gist of what these two tweets in Italian are saying: Juventus have upped their offer to €27 million in an attempt to have Verona finally say yes. And, according to the Gazzetta, Juve and Verona have come to an agreement on an Iturbe transfer. The deal, which could be done and made officialy as early as the next 24 hours or so, will reportedly see Iturbe sign a five-year contract with the three-time defending Italian champions.
Juventus, who are also expected to announce the Morata deal within the next couple of days or early next week at the latest, are trying to complete the bulk of their incoming transfers before preseason training gets underway next week at their grounds in Vinovo. Obviously Morata and Iturbe are the two key signings this summer, and the quicker they get wrapped up, the quicker they'll be able to start training with Antonio Conte and the rest of the squad.
While the negotiations for Iturbe haven't been as drawn out as those for Morata, it's still been an interesting time as Juve look to add a quality wide player for their long-rumored switch to a 4-3-3 formation next season. Verona slapped a €30 million price tag on the 21-year-old Iturbe after they bought him from Porto immediately after the 2013-14 season came to and end. And if the rumored price sticks, then they won't be too far off.
But if that's the price of doing business, then it will be the highest Beppe Marotta and Co. have paid for a player during their tenure in Turin. I guess everybody can't be free transfers like Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Fernando Llorente...
