In the latest edition of Tuttosport’s Aperimercato — their weekly YouTube transfer market forum — journalists Stefano Lanzo, Andrea Locorotondo, and transfer insider Nicolò Schira delivered an authoritative and wide-ranging assessment of Juventus’s summer. With pre-season set to begin on Sunday and the squad still far from complete, the panel’s conclusions make for compelling if occasionally uncomfortable reading.
Dibu Martínez: The Fee Is the Only Problem — and Juventus May Need to Raise Their Offer
On the goalkeeper question, the panel’s view was clear: Martínez remains the undisputed first choice, and Aston Villa genuinely want to sell him. The obstacle is purely financial. “The problem is Aston Villa wanting something more in economic terms,” Lanzo noted. “Juventus’s philosophy is clear: lower costs for experienced players’ transfer fees, with investment directed primarily at young talent. That is the obstacle with Martínez — but he remains the first name for the position.”
Locorotondo went further, identifying what he sees as a fundamental tension in Juventus’s position: “Villa are prepared to let him go — that intention was already visible last summer from the Manchester United interest and Martínez’s own tears on the final day of the Premier League season. But having a goalkeeper who wins you points, as Martínez demonstrably does, has a value. Age matters — though the World Cup has shown us that 35-year-olds can still save matches at the highest level. Letting a former world number one leave for €5-6 million… I understand Villa’s hesitation. I think Juventus need to raise their offer slightly.”
Kolo Muani: PSG’s Gonçalo Ramos Sale to Milan Complicates Everything
Schira delivered the most operationally significant update of the entire programme on the Kolo Muani front — and it was not entirely encouraging. Juventus have reached approximately €38 million in their offer to PSG. Whether they will go to €40 million is unclear. The real complication, however, is external: PSG’s sale of Gonçalo Ramos to AC Milan for €73 million has reset the French club’s internal reference point entirely. “If you sell Ramos for €73 million, you cannot sell Kolo Muani for half that,” Schira explained. “They are asking €50-55 million — figures Juventus will never pay.” The gap between the two clubs is now significantly wider than previously understood, and the risk of PSG opening talks with other clubs — which would dramatically complicate Juventus’s position — is growing by the day.
Locorotondo noted, however, that Kolo Muani’s own priority has never wavered: “From his perspective he has always been clear — Juventus is where he wants to be. He lived the six most important months of recent years there. He found the continuity at Turin that he never had at PSG or Tottenham.”
Palhinha: “Not an If — a Certainty”
The most enthusiastic passage of the entire programme was reserved for João Palhinha, the Portuguese midfielder currently at Bayern Munich and increasingly likely to depart the Allianz Arena this summer following a difficult spell in Bavaria. “Palhinha is not an ‘if’ — he is a certainty,” Locorotondo declared. “He is a footballer who impressed me enormously. If you give him trust and play him in his natural role — two midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 — he can be the difference. With a pass and a half he reverses an attack, gets the wide players moving in pace. He has eyes in the back of his head. He has the feet and he can also do the dirty work.”
For Lanzo, Palhinha represents exactly the kind of experienced, immediately impactful signing Spalletti needs in the engine room — a player who is “ready-made, international, and with a curriculum that speaks for itself.” The casting for the midfield position, he cautioned, remains very wide — and given the number of unwanted midfielders already on the books at the Continassa, including Koopmeiners, the volume of outgoing business needed before any meaningful incoming can happen should not be underestimated.
Mateta: A Winner — But Can He Stay Fit?
The panel dedicated considerable time to Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace as an alternative attacking option. Locorotondo made the most compelling case: “Compared to Pellegrino, I would take Mateta every time. Juventus need to decide what they want to do — build for the future or win now? Mateta gives you the possibility of winning a trophy. He knows how to win matches — just as Martínez does. If you want to programme, you do not sign Martínez. If you want to win immediately, you do.”
The caveat was equally important: “His knee is not always at its best. You cannot count on him for a full season — 30 appearances if things go well. But in those 25 or so matches he does play, you know exactly what you will get. He is not the Higuaín that Juventus once had. But he is a striker who wins you matches. And he would be arriving in Serie A from the Premier — observe what Malen did at Roma.”
Matic: Experience the Squad Needs — but Cannot Rely Upon Alone
On the subject of Nemanja Matić, recently offered to the club through intermediary Vlado Lemic, Lanzo’s position was nuanced. “A player with great charisma, personality, immense experience — perhaps too much for some. But Juventus will need players like him. You cannot rely only on players with an advanced age profile — but some experience in the group is necessary.” The broader midfield picture, he suggested, is emerging from a very crowded and somewhat chaotic pool — Goretzka, Kessié, and others all circling — with Spalletti’s ultimate preference for a classical regista remaining the hardest brief to fill at the right price.
The Untouchables — and Conceição’s Growing Importance
Perhaps the most revealing passage of the programme concerned which players Juventus genuinely consider beyond discussion. Yıldız is one. But Lanzo identified a second figure who has, almost without public comment, become equally central to the project: “McKennie is more or less at Yıldız’s level in importance — hugely important to Spalletti’s system, capable of playing multiple roles, reliable, and has just renewed his contract on significantly improved terms. And on Conceição: Juventus are betting heavily on him. An offer would need to be one you simply cannot refuse — and none of that kind has yet arrived.”
Schira’s Rapid Fire: Bremer Stays, Lucumí Has Premier Rivals, and Next Week Brings Dibu Clarity
In his traditional rapid-fire closing segment, Schira covered the remaining key topics. On Bremer: the club is not departing from the €58 million release clause figure — below that, there is no deal, and interest from the very top clubs capable of meeting that figure has so far remained limited. On Lucumí: agents for Nottingham Forest have been spotted in Italy, adding genuine Premier League competition to what had been assumed to be primarily an Italian race. And on Martínez: “We will speak more about him next week. His head is at the World Cup right now. But Juventus are pushing hard. Spalletti wants him strongly — I believe he is the only name the manager considers a genuine upgrade between the posts.”
