Report: Juve searching for English buyers for Aaron Ramsey

The free transfer that brought Aaron Ramsey to Turin two summers ago is definitely one of the bigger misses Juventus have had in the mercato of late.

The Wales international has never managed to settle in at Coverciano. Injuries have kept him off the field for long stretches, and he’s never managed consistent success while he was on it. After a terrific start in the 2020-21 season opener against Sampdoria, he never got anywhere close to that level again, and by the end of the season he had fallen severely out of favor with Andrea Pirlo. Over the last three months of the year he only started three times, and after the late-season draw against Fiorentina in April he didn’t appear again.

As it turns out, that game might end up being his last in a Juventus shirt. The cash-strapped Bianconeri are eager to get his €7 million-per-year salary off the books, and given the nature of his arrival any transfer fee they get for him will be profit. As such, the club’s new front office is trying to line up a buyer.

The most likely destination for Ramsey is a return to the English Premier League. Former club Arsenal have been reportedly sniffed around about a potential return, but the most recent reports, coming from Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia), have claimed West Ham United and Crystal Palace have made enquiries into Ramsey’s availability.

West Ham might be a destination Ramsey would think about. The Hammers made a surprising run in the Premier League this year, finishing in sixth place but only two points out of the top four. They’ll be in the Europa League this season, the first time they’ll be in a European competition proper in decades. Signing a few names for their European adventure is probably on their minds, and Ramsey’s success in England would certainly be that kind of move. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, finished 14th, albeit a comfortable 16 points above the drop zone, and if they want to press up the table a player like Ramsey would likely be seen as a step in the right direction.

The monkey wrench in all of this would be Ramsey’s wage. Normally it wouldn’t be an issue for a Prem club given their insane TV revenue, the pandemic has hit everyone’s pocketbooks and it’s likely that Ramsey will either need to take a pay cut or spread his wage along a longer contract. A loan with an option to buy—not a bad idea for the receiving club considering his propensity for injuries—could also be in the cards.

Ramsey’s time at Juve is looking more and more like it’s over. The only question will be whether Federico Cherubini is more adept at selling from bad positions than his predecessor was, or whether they’ll just have to end up terminating Ramsey’s deal the way they did last summer for Gonzalo Higuain and Blaise Matuidi and in the winter with Sami Khedira.

Ramsey, for his part, made some significant improvements in Wales’ second game of the European Championship against Turkey today. He did make a hash of two really good early chances before making a great run through the middle to latch on to a good pass from Gareth Bale, chesting it down, and half-volleying it into the net for the first goal of the game in a 2-0 win.