New course, new directions. Giovanni Carnevali, Ricky Massara, and Marco Ottolini are already moving — not wanting to arrive breathless in spring when the real decisions need to be made. The Marotta methodology, applied with the patient discipline of a club that has learned from its own summer’s most successful operations, is now being extended across every position. The full free-agent dossier, as reconstructed by Tuttosport’s Paolo Pirisi, is the most comprehensive public picture yet of where Juventus intend to find the building blocks of next season’s squad.
The Context — What the Summer Produced and What It Declined
The summer’s free-agent market produced exactly one significant signing from the zero-cost category: Çelik, the Massara masterstroke that spirited him away from Roma by exploiting the Roman club’s slowness in closing a renewal. For the rest, Juventus declined multiple spontaneous candidacies: John Stones (now at Inter), David Alaba (who signed for Udinese), and Leon Goretzka (now at Aston Villa). The club also received and rejected approaches involving Robert Lewandowski and Bernardo Silva — too old, too expensive in wages, or too far removed from the profile Spalletti requires. And the Robertson door-slamming from the Comolli era deserves its own parenthetical mention as a reminder of how differently the new administration approaches these conversations.
In Goal — Alisson and Santiago Beltran at Opposite Ends of the Scale
The two goalkeeping options being evaluated could not be more different in profile. Alisson — who will turn 35 in October 2027 but remains among the world’s ten best goalkeepers — is the experienced, proven option. He knows Massara and Spalletti personally from their overlapping time at Roma. Earlier this year, Pirisi reveals, the Brazilian had spoken directly with Spalletti about the possibility of joining Juventus. Liverpool ultimately chose to retain him by securing a renewal — but his situation merits continued monitoring. A contract valued below his current Liverpool salary remains the formula that could make the deal viable.
Santiago Beltran of River Plate is the opposite profile entirely — born in 2004 and considered the future of the Argentine national team. His contract with River expires on 31 December 2027 but Juventus can move earlier to secure him before the competition intensifies. Massara attempted to sign him this summer as a long-term investment. The interest has not diminished.
In Defence — Solet, Tomori, Raum, and Mitchell on the Paywalled Pages
The chapter headings of the paywalled second section — “Chi c’è nel mirino per la difesa Juve” — confirm the defensive targets already covered in this session: Oumar Solet of RB Salzburg, Fikayo Tomori of Milan, David Raum of Leipzig, and Tyrick Mitchell of Crystal Palace. All have contracts expiring in the summer of 2027, all represent the free-agent strategy in its purest form. Solet — a 24-year-old Frenchman of exceptional physical presence — is a new addition to the publicly known target list, mentioned alongside Tomori as the two centre-back options being most actively evaluated.
In Midfield and Attack — Kovacic, Çalhanoğlu, and Mateta
The third chapter — “Centrocampo e attacco: tutti i nomi” — completes the picture across the two most urgently depleted positions. In midfield, the two names already confirmed in this session — Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City, contract expiring June 2027) and Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter, contract expiring June 2027) — are the headliners. The reminder that Kovacic represents perhaps the most intriguing and most perfectly suited profile for Spalletti’s midfield demands — technique, experience, pressing intensity, and the culture of winning — is as relevant as it was when first identified. Çalhanoğlu complicates everything through the Romano parallel already mapped.
The attacking name that will generate the most surprise is Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace — the French striker born in 1997 whose contract also expires at the end of the current season. Mateta has been one of the Premier League’s most effective centre-forwards over the past two seasons — physical, direct, capable of scoring 15-20 goals per campaign, and entirely consistent with the “nine-and-a-half” profile Spalletti has been requesting since his arrival. His potential availability on a free transfer is the kind of opportunity the old Juventus would have missed. The new one is already watching.
