Reports: Juventus, Atalanta close to finalizing deal for Dejan Kulusevski

Januarys around these parts are usually quiet in terms of actual transfer activity. We get the usual rumors, the ones that are talked about for weeks and then never actually take place. Maybe there’s a signing or two, but nothing major that sees serious money thrown out there where Juve’s making one of the bigger acquisitions in Serie A.

Even though we’re not to January yet officially, that whole notion might be a changing.

According to Sky Sport Italia’s herd of reporters, Goal Italia’s Italia’s Romeo Agresti as well as La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus and Atalanta — business partners plenty of times in the past — are putting the final touches on a deal for 19-year-old Swedish winger Dejan Kulusevski. Depending on the source the price Juventus will pay for Kulusevski varies, but the general line of thinking seems to be that it will cost around €35 million or €40 million up front, with add-ons that could push that total into the mid-40s or even higher.

There is one catch, though: Kulusevski will stay on loan at Parma until the end of the 2019-20 season, arriving at Juventus during the summer months ahead of preseason training for the 2020-21 campaign.

For what it’s worth, it’s also being reported by the likes of Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio that Kulusevski has agreed to personal terms with Juventus. All that is left is for Juventus and Atalanta (and probably Parma as well) to iron out the final details of the deal. It is believed that Kulusevski will sign until 2024 with a contract between €2 million and €3 million a year.

Kulusevski, who has been with Atalanta’s famed youth system since 2016 when he signed from Brommapojkarna in Sweden, has been one of the best youngsters in all of Serie A this season. In 17 games, he has recorded four goals and a team-best seven assists for Parma, which sits in a very comfortable seventh-place position as we bore ourselves during the holiday break.

Juventus have reportedly beaten Serie A rivals Napoli and Inter — on top of English sides Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool — to sign Kulusevski. While it seems a little unlikely knowing who is already on the roster, Di Marzio suggests that Kulusevski could be recalled from his loan with Parma in January if somebody like Marko Pjaca is signed to be his direct replacement at Parma.