Newcastle United latest news: Juventus have reportedly joined the race to sign defender Oscar Mingueza amid reported interest from West Ham and Aston Villa.
Juventus have reportedly joined the race to sign Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza this month.
Mingueza is out of contract in the summer and, according to reports, will leave the La Liga club when his current contract expires. Celta Vigo, therefore, will have to either sell him this month to receive any sort of transfer fee for him, or risk losing him on a free at the end of the season.
The Hammers, meanwhile, have just a couple of weeks left to strengthen Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad in their desperate bid to avoid relegation to the Championship. However, despite all of this interest from the Premier League, it appears that Serie A is Mingueza’s most likely destination.
Speaking about his future at Celta Vigo, Mingueza recently said: “I’m very happy here, very content. I know that if I stay here, I wouldn’t earn the same as in other places, but personally I’m also looking for a bit of comfort.”
“I don’t know the percentage [chance of a new deal], but what I do know is that we’re talking. I’m very comfortable here, I want to stay here, but we’ll see what happen.”
Juventus ‘keen’ on Oscar Mingueza transfer
According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus have also shown interest in signing Mingueza this month. Taking to X to provide an update on the defender’s future, Romano wrote: ‘EXCL: Juventus are among clubs keen on signing Oscar Mingueza from Celta Vigo.
‘Juve among 5 clubs interested in free summer deal, eventually open to anticipate deal in January. Celta don’t want to sell Mingueza now as 50% goes to Barça.’
FIFA’s rules on pre-contract agreements mean that Juventus can agree a deal with Mingueza and his representatives for him to move to Turin this summer once his contract has expired. Pre-contracts can only be agreed with foreign clubs - meaning Newcastle, Villa and West Ham also have this option available to them.
FIFA regulations state: "A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player’s current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him.
"A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months.
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"Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions."
Alternatively, Juventus could swoop to sign Mingueza this month if they want to steal a march on their rivals and have the defender available to them between now and the end of the campaign. Juve currently sit fourth in the Serie A table, seven points behind league leaders Inter Milan.
Juventus, of course, signed Lloyd Kelly from Newcastle United in winter last year as they bolstered their defensive options. That move, which was an initial loan deal, was turned into a permanent transfer during the summer.
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