Juvé to sign Angel Di Maria

Report: Juventus’ Ángel Di Maria, Paul Pogba signings ‘at the final stage’

Well, the transfer market looks like it’s picking up.

 

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

The summer transfer window doesn’t officially open for more than a month, but Juventus could very well get to notable deals done well before the last days of June arrive.

Two big moves could be on the horizon, too.

According to Italian transfer reporter Nicolo Schira on Thursday, Juventus’ pursuit of Ángel Di Maria and Paul Pogba is at such an advanced stage that you could consider it the “final stage.” Just how much more negotiating that will call for remains to be seen, but at this point the signs are pointing toward Juventus adding both the 34-year-old Di Maria and the 29-year-old oft-injured Pogba in the coming weeks.

Reports suggest that Pogba doesn’t want to rush his decision, with Paris Saint-Germain essentially the only other team that is in the mix at this point. PSG have, as you might expect, reportedly offered Pogba a higher salary, but Juventus is hoping the draw of coming back to Turin will be able to trump any sort of monetary gap between the two contract offers.

According to earlier reports, Juventus has offered Di Maria — who wants to remain in Europe for at least one more season — a one-year deal worth €7 million with an option for a second year. The reported numbers for Pogba’s contract around in the neighborhood of €7.5 million a season with either a three- or four-year deal being offered depending on the source you read in the Italian media.

As much as there is still plenty of business to be done to remake this roster, it’s becoming pretty clear that Juve’s directive is to try and get the Di Maria and Pogba deals done before they dive into the deep end of negotiating for other parts of the roster. (Namely replacements for Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala, at the very minimum.)

Juventus has been wanting to add the kind of midfielder with Pogba’s skillset, and the chance to get him back on a free transfer — albeit on one of the higher salaries on next season’s roster — appears to be something too good to pass up for Juventus’ front office. And with Manchester United basically out on offering him a new contract and there only being PSG as a potential destination, Juve’s got to like their chances of closing the deal.