Juventus have reportedly found an agreement in principle on personal terms with Brighton midfielder Matt O’Riley.
The Bianconeri have been searching the market for a new midfielder for months, but haven’t been able to find any joy on this front.
Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali was the ultimate dream, but the Serie A giants found closed doors. In recent weeks, Sporting CP captain Morten Hjulmand then surfaced as the No.1 target, but the Portuguese giants are refusing to accept a transfer fee below €50 million.
Matt O’Riley emerges as Juve’s new primary target
As reported on Sunday,Juventus have now shifted their focus to the more affordable O’Riley, who is now considered the main objective for Damien Comolli and Francois Modesto.
The Denmark international is a 24-year-old player capable of playing as a central midfielder or an attacking midfielder in Igor Tudor’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
Matt O'Riley in action for Brighton
(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
O’Riley earned fame during his time at Celtic, before moving to Brighton last summer for £25 million. However, he hasn’t been able to replicate the same level of performance in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, Juventus firmly believe he would seamlessly fit in their system, and are now working on luring him to Turin.
According to Tuttosport, the Bianconeri have already opened talks with the midfielder’s entourage, and they were able to make swift progress.
Juventus have agreement in principle with O’Riley on five-year deal
The Turin-based newspaper reveals O’Riley is open to making the move to Continassa, and that the two parties have already found a draft agreement on personal terms; Juve are willing to guarantee the London native a net salary worth €3 million per season for the next five years.
Nevertheless, the source insists that Juventus must first sell one or more players to make room for the Dane. The candidates to leave in midfield are Weston McKennie, Fabio Miretti, and especially, Douglas Luiz.
Moreover, Juventus must also keep an eye on the competition, as Roma, Everton, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest have also enquired about O’Riley this summer.
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Michel Sakr
Michel is a football journalist based in Beirut who has been a die-hard Juventus supporter since 1996. He is a Law graduate and a member of the Beirut Bar Association. In addition to writing for Juve FC, he is also the Head Writer for The Laziali and a Featured Writer on other websites including Stretty News, and The Cult of Calcio.