Juve failed to interest Napoli hot-shot Victor Osimhen, who has been exiled by former Bianconeri boss Antonio Conte. The Nigeria international is on a season-long loan at Galatasaray, and likely to join a Premier League club in the summer.
There will be money to splash to reinforce the Juventus attack if interim head coach Igor Tudor can achieve his goal of a top four finish in Serie A, which guarantees a Champions League.
Belgium international Lois Openda, an unorthodox yet effective striker, is the latest name to be added to Juve’s summer wishlist.
Under pressure Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli is ambitiously seeking top-class forwards, especially as loanee attacker Kolo Muani and striker Dusan Vlahovic could be plying their trade in the Turkish Supa Lig next term.
Loanee attacker Kolo Muani is expected to return to parent club Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue 1 leaders ideally wish to sell him to a Premier League club, although a season-long loan to Galatasaray to replace Osimhen is viable. Fenerbahce are exploring a deal to bring in Serbia striker Vlahovic.
Giuntoli already has some big names on the club’s wishlist that include Barcelona’s Ansu Fati, Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy, Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta, Manchester United’s Antony and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
With Juventus scouts having rued their eye over Sesko, his RB Leipzig team-mate Openda has now been added to Giuntoli’s summer striker targets. Yet the pair are only interested in leaving the German side should they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Versatility bonus
The fact that unorthodox Openda is versatile, as he can play as center-forward, a second striker or on either wing, is an added attraction for Juventus.
Openda found the back of the net 24 in his opening German Bundesliga season last term, having joined from Lens in a deal that runs until 2028. He has surprisingly only been on target in the German top tier nine times this campaign, although has provided eight goal assists.
The 25-year-old kicked off his career with Club Brugge, yet it was during his two seasons at Dutch Eredivisie club Vitesse that he found his scoring boots with 28 goals from 66 league appearances.
Club moves
Openda’s prolific strike rate earned him a five-year contract with French outfit Lens in July 2022. After an eight-game scoring drought, Openda burst back onto the scene by scoring the fastest-ever Ligue 1 hat-trick. He found the back of the net three times in four minutes and 30 seconds during the 4-0 triumph at Clermont in March 2023.
Lens finished Ligue 1 runner-up to PSG, with Openda’s league tally of 21 goals enough to tempt RB Leipzig to sign him for a bargain price of €38m (US$43m) in 2023.
Should RB Leipzig be excluded from next season’s Champions League there could be an exodus which includes Openda, this would be exactly the same daunting scenario that Juventus face.
Nevertheless Giuntoli is plotting for Juve’s next campaign with a positive approach. Although failure to reach the coveted European competition could mean that Giuntoli will exit Juventus as well as Tudor and the club’s key players.