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Juventus' pursuit of Juan Iturbe has certainly seen its fair share of twists and turns the past couple of weeks. If it were as simple as Iturbe saying yes to Juve — which he has reportedly done weeks ago — we'd be seeing the young Argentinian playmaker training alongside countrymen Carlos Tévez in Vinovo right now.
But things aren't as easy as all of us would like it to be. And that's especially true for Iturbe because his rights aren't simply owned by the team he currently plays for. The news is what it has basically been for the last few days — Juve and Verona continue to discuss a deal to bring Iturbe to Turin. However, as the days go by, the more important things become to try and hammer out a deal.
So much so that the next 24 or so hours could be the tipping point in what happens next.
Today will be the decisive day to define the deal, after yesterday's phone call. Juventus can't waste any more time if they want to acquire him, because Mascardi (the man that really decides Iturbe's future) visited many European team in recent weeks to find a club (Atletico Madrid, for instance) that allowed him to keep a percentage of the rights of the player (Mascardi owns the 10 percent). If Iturbe moves to Turin, Mascardi would lose his share, that's why he's trying to raise the price tag and this is starting to bother Marotta and Paratici. Juventus need to make a final push if they don't want to lose their advantage.
(Source: Gianluca Di Marzio/calciomercato.com)
The reported price of how much Juve are offering for Iturbe has been going up by every couple of days. We heard a deal might have been struck between Juventus and Verona at €25 million plus another €2 million in bonuses. Then Sky Italia floated out a new Juventus bid of around a €29 million figure on Monday — which continues to inch closer and closer to the original €30 million price tag Verona slapped on Iturbe after they signed him from Porto.
Isn't this fun, guys?
With all of this being said, it seems as though one thing is for certain when it comes to the Juventus and Verona negotiations: The price to acquire Iturbe isn't getting any cheaper. That's especially true if it suddenly becomes a bidding with with another club. Time's ticking, Beppe.
