The renewals machine has been restarted. This applies both to the key players who must be locked in, and to those players on whom it was commercially worthwhile to intervene — significantly reducing their balance-sheet impact through revised structures. A benefit for Juventus, accustomed for years to overpaying players and then reversing course the following summer: going cap in hand to find buyers, or parking surplus assets on loan at the margins of European football. And a benefit for Spalletti, reassured by the prospect of conducting his work under the banner of genuine technical continuity.
Never Again — The Vlahović Lesson
The article’s organising principle is stated in its headline: never again a Vlahović situation. The Serbian striker — regenerated by Spalletti’s individual attention and technical work, only to be allowed to leave on a free transfer to Besiktas when the renewal conversation never materialised — represents the precise mistake the new leadership intends never to repeat. The effort invested in transforming a player — and in Spalletti’s case, that effort is not incidental but central to his coaching identity — cannot become free human capital for another club. The González renewal, completed Friday afternoon, is the first formal application of that principle.
On Douglas Luiz, Aprile makes a specific observation that illuminates the depth of Spalletti’s investment: the manager worked at length before the Brazilian began absorbing his tactical directives. “He had to convince him that one way or another he would make him the player he had been two years earlier.” It is too early to formally place Luiz among the players whose career Spalletti has transformed — but the early evidence of the 2026-27 season, including the Brazil call-up that moved him to tears, suggests the road taken is the right one.
The Next Three — Conceição, Douglas Luiz, Kalulu
The second chapter — “Juventus, aria di rinnovi: da Chico a Douglas Luiz” — confirms the renewal queue. Conceição’s situation has been discussed throughout this session: current contract to summer 2027, Jorge Mendes visiting Italy before year-end, Spalletti’s unambiguous declaration that he is “untouchable.” The left thigh scare during the Portugal-Norway game added a note of urgency — Juventus do not want to be negotiating with a player whose contract is expiring in the summer while simultaneously managing injury-related anxiety. The deal needs to be done while the relationship is warm and the leverage balanced.
Douglas Luiz’s renewal is the most structurally significant of the three. Contract to 2028 — relatively comfortable on paper — but the Brazil call-up and the quality of his recent performances have already attracted international attention, and Juventus are acutely aware that allowing him to enter the final 18 months of his deal without renewal discussions would recreate the very dynamic they are trying to eliminate. Carnevali has publicly stated his intention to extend the Brazilian’s contract. The negotiation is underway.
Kalulu — The “Senatore” Renewal and What It Means
The third chapter — “Kalulu, la situazione” — addresses the senatore renewal that has been referenced across multiple articles in this session but whose formal details have remained behind the paywall. The French centre-back’s current contract runs to 2029 at €2.5 million per year — so this is not an expiry crisis but a recognition of status. Kalulu has become one of Spalletti’s most trusted and consistently impressive performers, his role expanding and his importance to the tactical system growing with each passing week. The renewal Carnevali is preparing is an acknowledgement of that reality: a salary revision that reflects what he has become, rather than the number agreed when he arrived from Milan. Three renewals incoming. The machine is running. The Vlahović door has been closed.
