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As we've come to see first hand, Beppe Marotta has the ability to maneuver through the transfer market despite having a fraction of the transfer budget as some of the other European heavyweights. He's rarely dropped €20 million on a player, and only done so recently as Juve's financial outlook has become a lot more stable and prosperous.
Because of that, Marotta has had to get creative. And, as we've seen almost every summer since he's been the man leading Juve's roster construction, there have been a handful of free transfers that have turned out to be some of the club's best acquisitions over that timespan.
Juventus have announced the signing of Khedira, their latest bargain bin acquisition. The cost reads absolutely zero when it comes to the transfer fee, and a reported €4 million annual salary for the 28-year-old German international midfielder who had been with Real Madrid for the past five seasons. The official word, courtesy of juventus.com:
Juventus Football Club has today completed the signing of Sami Khedira.
The 28-year-old, who will officially join from Real Madrid on a free transfer on 1 July 2015, has agreed terms on a four-year contract which expires on 30 June 2019.
Khedira joins Juventus, agreeing a four-year contract with the club. Read more here: http://t.co/F6IkLFO2tx pic.twitter.com/bjJrhvlOuS
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) June 9, 2015
There comes a point where at this cost, you have to just trust Marotta's instincts. He has had so much success with low-cost moves since becoming the man behind Juve's transfers that he has unquestionably earned the benefit of the doubt. And while the signing of Khedira will only continue the Italian and foreign press from churning out rumors about the futures of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba, adding somebody with the experience of Khedira is a huge feather in Juve's cap.
And let me remind you, it's for absolutely free.
That's a pretty good price for any player — and especially one that has accomplished as much as Khedira has during his time in both Germany and Spain.