Reports: Juventus closing in on deal for PSG’s Leandro Paredes

With one deal that involves a loan with an option to buy reportedly out of the way, Juventus has now turned its attention to another transfer with the same kind of structure.

Juve appears to be making substantial progress on their reported deal for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Leandro Paredes. Referred to as Juventus’ “absolute priority” on the market by Goal Italia’s Romeo Agresti, Paredes will reportedly arrive on loan for the 2022-23 with the Bianconeri holding an option to buy the 28-year-old Argentine midfielder. Paredes is pushing for a move to Juventus, according to Fabrizio Romano, and Juve manager Max Allegri has identified the former Roma man as a necessary signing in the midfield.

Juventus and Paredes reportedly agreed to personal terms nearly three weeks ago. According to Nicolo Schira, Paredes would have the same contract length through 2026 as Arkadiusz Milik if Juve are to buy him outright next year. Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Juve’s option to buy would become an obligation based on certain sporting objectives like reaching the Champions League next season.

Paredes, who has fallen down the depth chart at PSG over the last year, has been the main name linked with Juventus over the last couple of weeks as Allegri clearly wants to add a regista-type of midfielder to the roster before the summer transfer window ends.

The problem with all of this is that Juve’s midfield is currently full of players whose future is totally up in the air. Maybe the Paredes move is what sets thing into motion, allowing the Juve front office to feel comfortable enough to send the likes of Nicolo Fagioli and/or Nicolo Rovella out on loan to the likes of Cremonese and Monza, respectively, or frees up somebody like Denis Zakaria to sign elsewhere after being linked with Roma and a pair of unnamed Bundesliga clubs by Di Marzio on Wednesday.

But while the Paredes move won’t blow anybody away, it might be the thing that helps get Juventus’ midfield struggles get figured out for the simple fact that it won’t force Allegri into playing Manuel Locatelli as a regista more often than not. That is, of course, if Paredes is able to stay healthy — something that hasn’t exactly been all too common in the 2022 calendar year. Paredes was hurt for much of the second half of last season, missing three weeks with an adductor issue and then suffering a season-ending muscle injury in early April.

A move to Juventus does seem like it’s very much happening at this point, with multiple members of the Italian media saying that talks between the Juve front office and PSG have been positive over the last few days. As Romano pointed out, both sides want to conclude negotiations quickly, which means we could get a final agreement before Juve faces Paredes’ former team at Allianz Stadium this weekend.