Report: Juventus could finalize Dani Alves signing by next week

We were sitting here around this time last week with honestly no idea of what would come to across the Italian press wires the next day. It involved Barcelona-themed transfer rumors, most of them saying that Dani Alves was basically set to bolt Spain and head to Italy.

We've reached that weird stage where things seem like they're going to happen, but haven't actually happened yet. You know, sometimes it's called The Waiting Game, where the only real "development" is that the teams are talking about what may or may not end up happening. Basically, what we expect them to do while negotiations take place.

According to reports out of Italy on Monday, maybe that awkward silence between legitimate heat in a transfer story and the end being in sight is close to arriving. The Dani Alves-to-Juventus might actually happen soon, with a reported end in sight being at some point in the next week. We've heard this dance before when it comes to other Juventus-related matter, so maybe it's just a ruse. Or maybe it's legitimate.

Either way, this is at least different than the "Juventus and Barcelona are in talks" stuff we've been hearing for the last few days. At least somebody might look at it that way.

And when it comes to a potential Alves signing, what did Beppe Marotta have to say about it all?

"Alves is a player that we have diverted our attention on. The report between him and the club needs to be defined first. If he were to become available then we will try to define the contractual relationship between us. I'm optimistic."

(Source: Gianluca Di Marzio)

Okay, so, it's understandable that Beppe will say what he said mainly because it's not like Alves is officially considered a former Barcelona player these days. Everybody may say it in anticipation of what many predict will happen, but it hasn't happened yet, so he's going to play it safe when it comes to talking to the media.

But to throw in that "I'm optimistic" at the end, there's basically the confirmation that there is something there and that Marotta is working on something. So there's that, which is nice.