When you hear things described as "a formality," then it's only a matter of time before they actually take place. And when it comes to a formality around Juventus' world of operations, it involves the current contract extension negotiations with their second-year manager Max Allegri.
We don't know when Allegri will officially sign his extension.
But, as Juve director general Beppe Marotta pointed out before Juventus' advancement to the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday night, Allegri signing a contract extension is "a formality." And based on reports out of Italy Wednesday, the reason it's a formality is because the framework of said deal is pretty much good to go at this point in time.
Massimiliano Allegri has achieved great success at Juventus since replacing Antonio Conte, and it looks like the Tuscan coach will be staying in Turin awhile longer. The bianconeri are in fact working on extending Allegri's contract through 2019, there is optimism filtering on reaching an agreement. Juventus is confident they will be able to keep their manager, there are all the conditions for a deal and it appears there is an agreement in principle to continue the relationship. Juventus would like to get the deal done before the return match against Bayern Munich.
(Source: Gianluca Di Marzio)
Seeing how much success Allegri has had since taking over for Antonio Conte as Juventus' manager two summers ago, none of this should be a surprise to anybody. Even when there were rumors of Chelsea or, as recently as earlier this week, Real Madrid, Allegri hasn't shied away from saying how he wants to not only focus on the present, but stay right where he is. Unlike those other clubs where the pressure to win could cost you your job within a season or two, Allegri has full backing of Marotta, Andrea Agnelli and the rest of Juventus' management team.
Sure, it helps that he's producing both domestically and in Europe, but Allegri has done little to say he doesn't deserve to stick around for the next couple of seasons. He's transitioned from one Juventus team to another, one that is much younger and had to deal with a whole lot of early-season issues in September and October.
Basically, all those evil thoughts I had about Allegri being Juventus' manager when he was first hired have been kicked out the door and up into the earth's atmosphere. He's proven a lot of us wrong, and a contract extension is what he rightfully deserves.