Juventus need to win at relegation-threatened Venezia on Sunday to seal a top four finish, and compete in next term’s lucrative Champions League.
With Europe’s leading club competition to lure top-class players, which will require financial clout, Juventus should be able to up their game on the pitch next season.
Juve sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli has been relentlessly adding to his summer transfer wishlist, with some ambitious big names as well as lots of lesser known players should the club fail to net Champions League soccer.
Splashing the cash
Two potentially expensive acquisitions for Juventus are Palace captain Marc Guehi and goal-machine Jean-Philippe Mateta, although they are about to enter talks about contract extensions following last Saturday’s FA Cup success. Their combined cost would be in the region of €100 million (US$112.4m).
The Londoners won their first-ever trophy after manager Oliver Glasner outwitted Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola with a 1-0 victory at Wembley Stadium, which earned them a place in the Europa League.
England international Guehi was snapped up from Chelsea for €21.1m (US$23.7m) on a five-year deal in 2021, and has excelled since swapping London clubs.
European giants chasing
The defender has been attracted serious interest from an ever-increasing list of leading clubs such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur.
The 24-year-old had been perilously close to joining both Newcastle and Tottenham. With Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juve in the mix as his next potential destination, he may prefer to run down his contract at Palace and become a free agent.
With such a fierce race to secure Guehi’s signature, Palace may seize the opportunity to cash in as his value will have hiked up since the FA Cup triumph. Although both Guehi and Mateta have kicked off talks about a new contract.
Hot-shot striker
France international Mateta has been scoring for fun this term, so understandably been linked with such giants as Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester United. He has two years remaining on his Palace contract.
The most recent interest in securing his signature has come from Serie A, with AC Milan and Inter Milan joining Juve among his admirers.
Until Juventus get over the finishing line to score Champions League soccer next season, Giuntoli's list of summer targets remains fanciful and out of reach.