Ángel Di Maria undergoes medical ahead of his Juventus move

For weeks we had to wait for an answer from Ángel Di Maria. It was a waiting game in the same yet sorta different kind of fashion that we saw last summer when Juventus had all those meetings with Sassuolo for Manuel Locatelli. Would he or wouldn’t he decide to sign with Juve as he aimed to keep a high level of match fitness going into the World Cup — we just didn’t know for weeks despite what the Italian media reported.

What’s better than El Fideo flying in on the PJ and showing up the next morning for his medical to get you the final answer you’ve been waiting for?

With a rather enthusiastic crowd greeting him Friday morning, Di Maria stepped out of a brand new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and headed into J Medical to put the finishing touches on his move to Juventus on a free-agent deal. Di Maria is one half of the big summer Juve has had on the market for players out of contract, with midfielder Paul Pogba also expected to undergo his medicals at some point this weekend as he begins Version 2.0 in Turin.

The 34-year-old Di Maria will put pen to paper on his one-year deal worth a reported €6 million net a season. (Some others in the Italian media are still reporting a €7 million net salary, so believe what you want.) Juventus reportedly maintained confidence throughout the negotiation process even though there were signs in the Italian media that Di Maria wasn’t always totally sold on a move to Turin.

Di Maria will not be a long-term option simply because of his age and the situation in which he arrives. As much as it is to help Juventus in the present, it’s also to ensure that he is ready for the World Cup and be match fit for Argentina.

No matter what, though, Di Maria is a player that Max Allegri reportedly really wanted to see arrive at Juventus this summer. And with Di Maria rolling into Turin to undergo his medical exams before the weekend officially gets underway, there’s no more waiting — he’s here.