Report: Juventus finalize deal for Schalke defender Benedikt Howedes

We heard Juventus were in the market for one more central defender. It looks like they have found their man.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Juventus have agreed to a deal with Schalke for versatile veteran defender Benedikt Howedes. The deal, which has been talked about as one of Juve’s final pieces of business this summer, is pretty much what we around here like to a call a Beppe Marotta Special. I will turn it over to Gianluca Di Marzio’s report for the financial details of the deal:

An agreement was found with Schalke 04, as Juventus had to raise their offer for the loan fee: 3.5 million euros for the loan fee and 11.5 million euros for the option to buy (to be free at the end of the season to decide if the bianconeri want to hold on to the player).

And when should we expect Howedes in Italy?

The intention is for the player to have his medical visits on Wednesday.

That sounds good to me!

How Howedes will fit into the equation will be the most interesting thing in all of this. To get an experienced defender for the kind of price that Juventus will reportedly pay is quite a coup. Throw in the fact that he can play pretty much all over the defense and that price looks quite good to me.

He’s 29, is versatile and is coming in for what could be a total of €15 million when all of the boxes are checked. That is a pretty good addition to the roster to me, my friends.