The name Kerim Alajbegovic first lodged itself in Italian football’s consciousness on a painful evening in Zenica, when the young Bosnian was one of the standout performers in his nation’s famous victory over the Azzurri — one of the more humiliating results in Italian football’s recent history. In the months that followed, the phone at Bayer Leverkusen has barely stopped ringing. Now, Juventus have added their voice to the chorus — and Frederic Massara believes he has a personal route into the negotiation that others simply cannot replicate.
A Player Coveted Across Europe
The scale of interest in Alajbegovic is extraordinary for a player who has spent the past season on loan at Salzburg rather than at one of Europe’s elite clubs. Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle, Sunderland, Betis, Napoli, Roma, and Atalanta — where former Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli is reportedly an admirer — have all made enquiries. The qualities driving that interest are clear: exceptional one-on-one dribbling, pace in wide areas, a strong relationship with goal, and — crucially — the tactical versatility to play on either flank or as the number ten behind the striker. It is precisely that last quality that makes him so relevant to Juventus’s specific search for a trequartista.
Massara’s Personal Route: Pjanić as the Bridge
The detail that distinguishes Juventus’s approach from every other club in this race is Massara’s relationship with Miralem Pjanić — the former Juventus midfielder who now acts as Alajbegovic’s intermediary and agent. Massara had already attempted to bring Alajbegovic to Roma in the January transfer window, working directly through Pjanić to open the conversation. That attempt did not succeed, but the relationship between the two football men remains strong and active. Juventus are now leveraging it once more.
The Financial Proposal — and the Obstacle of Chelsea
Chelsea currently hold the most significant advantage in the race. Xabi Alonso’s club are reportedly willing to pay €40 million to Leverkusen immediately, with the arrangement that Alajbegovic would subsequently be loaned to a club competing in the Europa League for a season of regular first-team football — a structure that might actually work in Juventus’s favour as a potential loan destination, even if not as a direct buyer. Juventus’s own offer, by contrast, would reach approximately €35 million — but only once the sale of at least two surplus players has provided the necessary liquidity, given that the goalkeeper and striker remain the club’s most urgent priorities.
The Brahim Díaz Connection
There is also a conditional element to Juventus’s pursuit. The club will make a serious attempt for Alajbegovic only if the door to Brahim Díaz is definitively closed in the coming weeks. For now, the Real Madrid playmaker remains Spalletti’s primary creative target — but with Mourinho’s verdict on Díaz’s role now awaited and the window advancing, Massara is wisely ensuring that a credible alternative is already in play. Alajbegovic, with his ability to operate behind the striker and his exceptional dribbling in tight spaces, would navigate the “swamp of the trequarti” in a manner Spalletti would immediately recognise and value.
In a summer defined by patience and preparation, this is Massara doing what he does best — identifying the right player early, activating the right personal relationship, and positioning Juventus for a move that, should the circumstances align, could yet be one of the window’s most creative and transformative signings.
