The waiting is over. Jhon Lucumí is officially a Juventus player. After months of negotiations, a release clause that expired in July, rejected makeweight proposals, and a summer of patient attrition, both clubs confirmed the transfer on Sunday morning — and the Colombian centre-back who turned down five rival clubs to wait for this moment has finally got the move he always wanted.
The Official Figures
Juventus have paid Bologna €19.5 million net as the fixed fee, with a further €2 million in performance-related bonuses and €600,000 in ancillary costs — bringing the total outlay to approximately €22.1 million. Lucumí has signed a contract running until 30 June 2030, committing four years to the club.
It is a deal that, when set against the €28 million release clause that expired on 15 July, represents a meaningful financial saving for Juventus — and a vindication of Carnevali’s deliberate, patient strategy of waiting for the leverage to shift in his favour. The player’s own insistence on Juventus as his sole destination was, ultimately, the factor that made it possible.
The Long Road to This Moment
The pursuit began in June, running initially in parallel with the proposed Miretti swap that never materialised. A further attempt to include Juan Cabal as a makeweight was rejected by Bologna. The release clause came and went without being triggered. What finally moved the deal across the line was Lucumí’s own clear and unambiguous declaration that he would go nowhere else — a position that left Bologna with an increasingly stark choice between a below-market sale now or a free departure in ten months’ time.
After completing his medical in Turin on Saturday, the paperwork was finalised on Sunday morning. The wait had lasted eleven weeks. It ended before the season began.
Juventus’s Official Statement — and What Comes Next
Juventus’s official communication welcomed Lucumí warmly, highlighting his pathway from the Deportivo Cali academy through Genk to four seasons at Bologna — 152 appearances, his Champions League debut, and development into one of Serie A’s most respected centre-backs. The club’s closing line was characteristic: “A player in the full maturity of his game, ready to contribute immediately.”
He is Spalletti’s fifth summer signing — following Çelik, Ekhator, Kolo Muani, and Alajbegovic — and joins a defensive structure that already contains Pierre Kalulu, Gleison Bremer, and Lloyd Kelly. His natural partnership will be alongside Bremer in a back four, though Spalletti’s flexibility means he could also be deployed in a three alongside both the Brazilian and Kelly or Kalulu.
And the sixth signing? The Calciomercato article’s final line points firmly in one direction: Guglielmo Vicario, who has returned to the top of the goalkeeping list and for whom a first formal offer has now been submitted to Tottenham. The season begins on Saturday. The summer, in its final chapter, is not quite done yet.
