OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Juventus sign Manuel Locatelli on two-year loan deal

After weeks and weeks of meetings, plenty of proposals submitted and then rejected, plenty of doubt as to whether something might actually happen from those following the deal from the outside looking in, Juventus has officially gotten its man.

Manuel Locatelli, Juventus’ No. 1 transfer target this summer, is a Juventus player.

It’s done. We’re done talking about meetings. We can now talk about how Locatelli will fit into Max Allegri’s plans and be the important midfielder so many of us think he can be.

Juventus has officially announced the signing of the 23-year-old Locatelli on an initial two-year loan deal that will run through 2023. But, as we know, there is much more than that. The loan deal is a free (!!) one, with Juve having a €25 million obligation to buy come the summer of 2023. There are also €12.5 million in bonuses attached to the deal, pushing the potential total value of the deal to €37.5 million when it’s all said and done.

Locatelli has signed a five-year contract worth a reported €3 million per season.

The full details of the agreement, courtesy of Juventus’ official website:

Turin, 18 august 2021 - Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that an agreement with U.S. Sassuolo Calcio for the free temporary acquisition, until 30 June 2023, of the registration rights of the player Manuel Locatelli has been finalized.

The agreement entails the obligation for Juventus to definitely acquire the player’s registrations rights, subject to the achievement of certain given sporting objectives by the end of the season 2022/2023. The agreed consideration for the definitive acquisition is € 25 million, payable in three years. Furthermore, a maximum of € 12,5 million of cumulative bonuses are envisaged upon achievement of further sporting performance objectives.

And there you have it, folks. This is the end result of all of those meetings.

Juventus got the No. 1 target on its board. It took a little while longer than any of us wanted and surely longer than Max Allegri wanted, but sometimes that’s just what happens when trying to negotiate complex deals under difficult financial circumstances like this summer most definitely is.

Locatelli, who has absolutely thrived since moving to Sassuolo in 2019, will be looked upon to improve a Juventus midfield that has been a glaring weakness in the squad for the last few seasons. It is still a relatively young group, but has lacked the kind of midfielder with Locatelli’s characteristics — most notably his passing range and ability — for at least the last couple of years.

Now Locatelli is here, getting the move he has had his heart set on for multiple summer transfer rumors. What a welcome sight to see Juventus finally announcing Locatelli. It was worth all the meetings, right? Seeing him in the Juve stripes already is a pretty good feeling.