Lloyd Kelly’s move from Newcastle United to Juventus has not gone how he would have liked.
The 26-year-old only signed for Eddie Howe’s side last summer but quickly left after growing frustrated with his game time.
Lloyd Kelly had not done much to impress Newcastle United fans, however, with the defender struggling to break into the Magpies’ starting XI thanks to the fine form of players like Dan Burn.
It became even more telling that Kelly was nowhere near Howe’s first-choice centre-back when Sven Botman was put straight into the starting XI against Tottenham Hotspur in January, despite only just coming back from injury.
Kelly took a pay cut to join Juventus in January, but the move has not worked out for him yet. Juventus fans slammed Kelly for his performance in a recent defeat to Atalanta. He failed to contain the likes of Ademola Lookman as the reigning Europa League winners won 4-0 at Juventus’ home ground.
The defender will be keen to win fans over after his recent performances but after a major announcement from the Old Lady, it does not look like things will get much better for him.
Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images
Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images
Lloyd Kelly could return to Newcastle after Juventus sack Thiago Motta
Thiago Motta praised Kelly after making his Juventus debut, he even gave the Englishman his Champions League debut in February in a move no Newcastle fan would have seen coming at the start of the season.
Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell worked wonders on Kelly’s loan deal, managing to persuade Juventus to provide a hefty transfer fee and a sell-on clause. It now looks likely that Newcastle will not see any of those proposed fees.
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On Sunday, Juventus announced that Motta had been replaced by Igor Tudor, who had previously worked for the Old Lady under Andrea Pirlo. The former Marseille and Lazio boss has the task of getting Juventus as close to the Serie A title as possible before the end of the season.
Igor Tudor is the new Head Coach of the Men’s First Team. Welcome, Igor!
Juventus thanks Thiago Motta for his work, passion and dedication during his time with the club.
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) March 23, 2025
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The announcement leaves Kelly’s involvement in Juventus’ first-team squad for the rest of the season hanging in the balance. His poor performances mean he is at risk of being a benchwarmer for the rest of his loan before returning to Newcastle in the summer – another move fans did not expect when his exit was announced.
Despite the change, Juventus are obliged to buy Kelly if they qualify for Europe. The Italian giants are currently fifth in the Serie A table, so they are still in a position where they will achieve that, but the final nine games of the season could see them slip out of those spots
Does Lloyd Kelly’s return to Newcastle affect summer transfer plans?
Mitchell has big plans for Newcastle in the summer. The belief is that there will be several new players joining the club following three transfer windows with very little spending.
PSR has been a big part of why Newcastle have barely seen any new players signed in the last year, with sales being prioritised to avoid charges from the Premier League.
Thankfully, Kelly’s possible return to Newcastle does not mean that the Magpies will be hampered in their attempts to improve the squad this summer as they are believed to be in a much better financial position due to recent sponsorships and sales.
Newcastle are due a £73m PSR boost with the heavy spending from three years ago set to be chalked off the cycle in July, meaning Mitchell will still have a lot of headroom to spend.
Mitchell is set to target young players in the summer with the hope that Howe can develop them as he has done with the likes of Lewis Miley and Lewis Hall.