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It’s gotten somewhat stagnant over the last 48 or 72 hours when it comes to Juventus’ reported search for a No. 9. The Luis Suarez situation has cooled off, which means that the player that looked like he was the most likely No. 9 to arrive might not be the No. 9 that arrives in reality. That’s mainly because a few other teams might be getting the business
Basically, could a few dominos be falling, though?
It kinda-sorta looks that way.
This is because the rumored deal between Roma and Napoli involving Arkadiusz Milik is suddenly back on just when it looked like it might be dead in the water. According to reports out of Italy on Monday night — including the Sky Sport Italia duo of Fabrizio Romano and Gianluca Di Marzio — the deal is getting close to being done, and as a result it would free up a certain Edin Dzeko to make the move to Juventus. That would obviously mean no Suarez coming to town as we still wait on him to take his Italian language test, get an Italian passport AND complete the contract buyout process with Barcelona.
Now you can probably understand why the whole Suarez saga is maybe making the Juventus front office a little ... antsy, to say the least.
More on the deal from Di Marzio:
Roma offered Milik a 5 year contract worth 5 million euros per season, but the player has not given his consent yet. Milik is not yet open to the move, but more will be known in the coming hours. His consent will allow this potential transfer to move forward. Only remaining is the negotiate a deal on the percentage of a future sale, which was requested by Napoli. If the Milik-Roma potential transfer is successful, this will unlock a potential move for Dzeko, as he is well-liked by Juventus.
So, in short:
- Roma want to sign Milik.
- Milik isn’t so hot on joining Roma.
- Juventus wants to sign Dzeko.
- But Dzeko first has to see the Milik-to-Roma deal happen since it’s definitely a natural replacement for the 34-year-old Bosnian coming in.
Got it? Good work, everybody.
There’s also a report from La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Nico Schira that Juventus could very well throw Mattia De Sciglio — who, you know, is still on the team — into the deal to try and offset some of the reported €15 million valuation that Dzeko currently has. Just how interested Roma might be in the oft-injured defender isn’t exactly known, but the fact that De Scigilio probably isn’t going to play any major part in Andrea Pirlo’s squad means he’s very much a possibility to move before the transfer window closes early next month.
Milik potentially moving to Roma is, obviously, the major domino that Juventus need to see fall before they can get the No. 9 that has reportedly been their No. 1 target ever since Pirlo was named manager. Not Suarez even though those rumors were flying right and left earlier this month. But Dzeko, who is very much the natural No. 9 who wouldn’t demand a long-term contract that Juve are clearly trying to acquire.
So, let’s hope that Napoli doesn’t do Napoli things and suddenly demand twice as much for a player who is potentially on the move. That would be nice, right? Same goes for this quest to sign see Juventus sign a No. 9 actually come to an end in the relatively near future.