Juventus are closing in on an agreement with Newcastle United for the transfer of 26-year-old defender Lloyd Kelly.
The Bianconeri have been on the hunt for new defenders since the start of January, as Thiago Motta’s backline has been depleted by the ACL injuries of Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal, in addition to the departure of former club captain Danilo.
Cristiano Giuntoli have already brought in young right-back Alberto Costa from Vitoria Guimaraes, while also signing Renato Veiga on loan from Chelsea. However, a centre-back is still required to shore up their winter business, especially following Pierre Kalulu’s injury which should keep him out for a few weeks.
So according to multiple sources in the Italian media, including Gianluca Di Marzio and Alfredo Pedulla, Juventus are very close to securing an agreement for Kelly.
The Serie A giants had already monitored the Englishman last season when his contract with Bournemouth was set to expire. In the end, it was Newcastle who won the race for his services.
However, the 26-year-old has been struggling for playing time under Eddie Howe, so he’s keen to put an end to his brief experience at St. James Park just and revitalize his career elsewhere. While he had other proposals on the table, he insisted on giving his priority to Juve.
The Bianconeri are expected to pay circa 3 million euros to sign the defender on loan until the end of the season, but the accord will also include an option to buy set between 13 and 14 million euros.
The two clubs are currently ironing out the final details regarding the payment methods, while Juventus could decide to book the player’s medical in London to speed up the process given that the transfer window closes on Monday evening.
Similar to Veiga, Kelly is a left-footed central defender who can also cover at left-back if required.
1 Comment
Guintoli has had 4 months to work on getting a central defender. Now on the 2th of february, this is what he comes up with: Lloyd Fucking Kelly. This is really not good enough. Just keep Danilo then instead of signing Veiga, plus an unknown right back from Portugal, and this guy. This is embarassing.