The summer transfer window closed less than a month ago. The January window does not open for more than three months. And yet at the Continassa, the work has already begun. La Gazzetta dello Sport reveals that Juventus are monitoring three players who become free agents in the summer of 2027 — with the intention of signing pre-contracts as early as January, replicating the Marotta methodology that transformed Inter’s squad planning over the past decade. No transfer fees. Maximum financial discipline. Players of genuine quality arriving at zero cost. The three names: Fikayo Tomori, David Raum, and Mateo Kovacic.
The Strategy — Signing in February, Arriving in June
The approach is explicitly modelled on what Beppe Marotta did at Inter — and what Carnevali himself observed closely from across Italian football for years. Identify players entering the final year of their contracts who are unlikely to renew, approach their agents in the January window, agree personal terms before any club can outbid you, and sign a pre-contract for a free arrival in June. Zeki Çelik — this summer’s most vivid example of the strategy in action — has already demonstrated its value by becoming one of Spalletti’s most important players within weeks of his arrival on a free transfer from Roma.
Tomori — Massara’s Obsession Since Milan
In defence, Carnevali and Massara’s primary target is Fikayo Tomori. The Juventus Chief Football Officer has a longstanding personal relationship with the English centre-back: it was Massara who orchestrated Tomori’s loan move from Chelsea to Milan in January 2021, and then his permanent acquisition for approximately €30 million. The player has been on Massara’s radar in every window since.
This summer, Tomori was marginalised under Sérgio Amorim at Milan and was approached about a departure — which he declined precisely in order to preserve his free-agent status from January onwards and maximise his options. His contract expires in June 2027. If Juventus were to sell Federico Gatti — who has reportedly expressed the desire for more regular first-team football — Tomori would become the immediate defensive priority. The 28-year-old England international offers experience, physicality, and the technical profile that suits Spalletti’s back three.
Raum — Left-Back Dream, Complicated by Leipzig Loyalty
For the left flank — Juventus’s most persistent structural gap all season — David Raum of RB Leipzig has emerged as Massara’s preferred long-term solution. The Germany international captain is contracted to Leipzig until June 2027 and the possibility of a renewal with his current club remains open — the player’s deep connection to the environment and the club’s own desire to retain him make this a live possibility rather than a foregone conclusion. If that renewal does not materialise, Juventus would face competition primarily from Manchester United for a player of genuine Premier League-level quality.
Kovacic — the Most Intriguing of All, and the Most Urgent
It is in midfield — where the summer failed to deliver Kessié and where Locatelli’s surgery has created a critical void — that the free-agent target that most excites Carnevali and Massara is to be found. Mateo Kovacic’s contract with Manchester City expires on 30 June 2027. The arrival of Enzo Fernández and Bilal El Khannous Bouaddi at the Etihad has significantly increased competition in his role, making a renewal unlikely for the 32-year-old Croatian. The profile he offers is precisely what Spalletti has been requesting throughout the transfer window and failed to secure — a technically refined, experience-laden central midfielder who has won at the highest level, is accustomed to the pressure of elite clubs, and provides the orchestrating quality that Locatelli’s injury has exposed as the squad’s deepest need.
No formal negotiations have opened for any of the three. But the groundwork is being laid, the agents have been contacted, and the February pre-contract window — the moment when players can legally sign agreements with new clubs — is the target. The Marotta method, imported to the Continassa. The free-agent market, pursued with the methodical patience that characterises everything Carnevali does.
