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According to reports out of Italy, the drawn out process that has been Neto-to-Juventus could very well be coming to an. The Fiorentina goalkeeper, who has refused to re-sign with the club in recent weeks, has reportedly agreed to personal terms with Juventus and will move to the three-time defending Serie A champions this summer.
More, from a man who knows a thing or two about transfers in Italy:
The Brazilian, who's full name is Norberto Murara Neto, will sign for the Bianconeri on a free transfer when his current deal with the Viola expires in June. All that is missing for the deal to be made official is the signatures on the contract but Juventus are working to bring the player to Turin already in this transfer window but the parties seem far from reaching an agreement.
Neto and Juventus will have to wait 6 months before the Brazilian is available to make his debut at the Juventus Stadium.
(Source: Gianluca Di Marzio)
With God in goal for the time being and the ink just recently drying in full on his brand new contract extension, there's no uncertainty as to what Neto's potential role with Juventus will be -- backing up Gianluigi Buffon, who turned 37 years old on Wednesday, the same day Juventus beat Parma in the Coppa Italia.
This, of course, could very well signal the end of Marco Storari's stay with Juventus, which has proved to be quite a sharp signing by Beppe Marotta over the course of the four-plus years the 38-year-old Storari has been with Juve. Storari has been one of the best backup goalkeepers in Europe even though he could go months on end without playing much at all.
The shoes will certainly be quite large ones to fill for Neto considering Storari has been so incredibly dependable and consistent as Buffon's backup since the 2010-11 season began. Then you throw in how little time Buffon has missed outside of Storari's first season at Juventus and it makes his performances even that much more impressive.
It's hard to put a true value around a No. 2 goalkeeper, but Storari has been as valuable as they can get.
But I'll put my Marco Storari fanboy flag down now. At least we know who Juve's No. 1 is, right?
Yeah, that's a pretty easy thing to figure out.
