Antonio Raimondo was the story of Italian football last week. Seven goals in seven Serie A appearances — including a hat-trick against Sassuolo on Friday — have transformed the 22-year-old from an intriguing loan player to the most talked-about young striker in the country. La Gazzetta dello Sport confirms that his name has arrived at the Continassa, where Carnevali, Ottolini and Chiellini are mapping the January window with increasing urgency.
The Profile — A Bologna Asset on Loan at Frosinone, in the Form of His Life
Raimondo was born in 2004, is Bologna’s property, and is spending his second season at Frosinone on loan. His current contract runs to 2028 — meaning Bologna hold the card and Frosinone cannot sell. The relationship between Juventus and Frosinone is warm and operationally established: Gatti was purchased from the ciociari in exactly these conditions, bought in January and sent back on loan to finish the season in Lazio’s lower house. That template — the “Gatti formula” — is precisely the structure Gazzetta reports is being studied for Raimondo.
The striker fits the “more Italian” project that Carnevali articulated publicly at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, where he said: “We want to create more italianità — it is not easy.” Raimondo, alongside Alessandro Romano, Luca Palmisani, and Cristian Ndour, represents one of the first concrete expressions of that ambition.
The January Possibility — Buy Now, Leave at Frosinone Until June
The operative scenario: Juventus move in January, acquire Raimondo’s registration from Bologna, and immediately loan him back to Frosinone under Alvini — the manager who, per the article, specifically requested Raimondo when Tedesco was still in charge and who now has him scoring at will. The player stays in a system where he is thriving, Juventus secure him before the bidding escalates, and the relationship with Frosinone is further deepened in preparation for the parallel Palmisani negotiation.
The timing of a January approach also depends on Jeff Ekhator’s return — expected late October or November. If the Italian delivers the expected contribution on his return from his muscle injuries, the urgency of a January striker signing diminishes. If Ekhator returns and struggles again, the case for Raimondo in January becomes pressing.
The Miretti Mechanism — Facilitating the Bologna Relationship
The counter-offer that could grease the wheels with Bologna — who are described as keeping a close eye on the situation — is Fabio Miretti. The midfielder, currently on loan at Beşiktaş and due to return to Juventus in the summer, is a name that Bologna like. A deal structured around Raimondo’s transfer with Miretti included as part of the package — or as a separate transaction that follows — would align both clubs’ interests. Marco Di Vaio, Bologna’s sporting director, has publicly emphasised Raimondo’s centrality to their project, which is a negotiating position as much as a statement of genuine intent.
The Premier League Complication
The reason January has moved from a possibility to a near-necessity: English clubs are watching. Gazzetta is explicit that the Premier League interest is growing rapidly, and that if Juventus do not move to pre-empt it — as they did with Gatti — the window could close. The Gatti precedent is instructive not only as a structural template but as a strategic lesson: move before the market catches up, secure the asset at a manageable price, and allow the player to finish his development season in the environment where he is already thriving.
