Juventus’s summer is a study in contrasts. On one side, the crack-ridden reality of a transfer market that demands patience, creativity, and financial discipline. On the other, dreams that are not entirely unreachable — provided the right outgoings materialise first. On this first day of pre-season at the Continassa, Tuttosport maps both the cracks and the dreams in considerable detail.
The Zaniolo Explosion — and Why Juventus Are Watching
The most dramatic development of the morning concerns Nicolò Zaniolo. What appeared last week to be a settled situation — wages agreed at €1.8 million per year for three years, player back in training with Udinese, skies clearing — has deteriorated with startling speed into a full-scale stand-off that could yet deliver the Italian international to the Continassa at minimal cost.
The roots of the dispute lie in the contract draft that Udinese placed in front of Zaniolo’s entourage. According to Tuttosport, the document was laden with clauses that exceeded any reasonable standard of professional conduct requirements — a gesture that the player and his camp interpreted as an expression of institutional mistrust towards someone who, by every objective measure, gave everything to the Friulian cause last season. Zaniolo’s response was immediate and emphatic: since Thursday he has not trained, protected by a medical certificate. He has told the club that if a clean, clause-free contract is placed on the table, he will return to the training ground immediately. If not, the relationship — barely a year old — is over.
Udinese now face a dilemma with no elegant solution. They can soften their position and offer the straightforward contract Zaniolo demands — but the trust between the two parties has been materially damaged and a rapprochement looks increasingly forced. Alternatively, they risk placing one of their most valuable assets in a state of indefinite exclusion from the squad, with the prospect of being forced to sell in circumstances of their own making rather than at a time of their choosing. It was already a sensitive summer — losing Emmanuel Atta to Fiorentina has cost them a key wide player, and manager Kosta Runjaić has been handed a difficult summer as a consequence.
For Juventus, the situation is straightforward: a player they consider an alternative to Brahim Díaz for the trequartista role is inching closer to availability at a price — somewhere between €10 and €15 million — that comfortably fits Carnevali’s financial framework. Juventus are vigilant. So are AC Milan. Bologna are also watching, though their interest is contingent on Riccardo Orsolini’s departure. The coming days will be decisive.
Kessié and Goretzka: Appealing in Theory, Complicated in Practice
In the midfield, the gap between desire and reality is equally stark. Franck Kessié continues to occupy a significant position on Juventus’s target list, and his enthusiasm for a move to Turin — expressed openly during the World Cup — is genuine. But the financial reality is extremely complicated: Kessié is asking for approximately €8 million net per season plus a substantial signing bonus as a free agent. That figure, even for a player arriving without a transfer fee, places enormous strain on a squad-building operation governed by tight constraints. Whether Massara’s personal relationship with the Ivorian — forged during their time together at AC Milan — can bring the demands down to a workable level remains the critical question.
Leon Goretzka occupies a similar position in the conversation: quality that nobody disputes, but physical decline that cannot be ignored, and salary expectations that complicate any deal.
The Accessible Options: Palhinha and Matic
More within reach are two names whose profiles are distinct but whose accessibility is considerably greater. João Palhinha of Bayern Munich — still the player who attracted the most unanimous enthusiasm from Tuttosport’s Aperimercato panel — represents genuine top-level quality at a price that is at least within the realm of rational discussion, given Bayern’s need to move him this summer. His reading of the game, his ability to reverse attacks with minimal ball contacts, and his physical presence in defensive transitions are exactly what Spalletti’s system demands from a holding midfielder.
Nemanja Matić of Sassuolo, proposed through the same intermediaries who are facilitating the Dibu Martínez pursuit, is the more immediately economical option. At 38, his limitations are real — but his ability to manage possession, provide leadership, and function as an experienced anchor in a dressing room undergoing significant generational renewal makes him a genuinely interesting personality acquisition, even if he cannot be the long-term solution. He is the kind of player who raises the tone of a group by his mere presence. Whether that justifies a contract is the question Carnevali and Massara are still weighing.
Ederson: The Dream That Everyone at Juventus Agrees On
And then there is Ederson. The Brazilian midfielder of Atalanta has emerged as the candidate who attracts the most enthusiastic and unanimous internal support within Juventus’s technical area — the player, above all others on the midfield shopping list, who is judged to most precisely match the profile Spalletti has described. His positional intelligence, technical quality, physical power, and ability to operate between the lines whilst simultaneously providing defensive cover make him the most complete midfield option on the market.
The obstacle is the price. Atalanta value Ederson at €50 million — a figure that stands firm even after Manchester United’s decision to withdraw from negotiations following concerns over the Brazilian’s meniscus. Should the Bergamo club be compelled to revise their valuation downward as the summer progresses, Juventus have made clear they would be ready to move immediately. Milan are also admirers. The outcome of Atalanta’s own transfer window, and specifically whether they can source a replacement at an acceptable cost, will determine whether the Ederson dream remains a dream or becomes the defining signing of Carnevali’s first summer at the Allianz Stadium.
