The summer transfer market officially opens on June 1, but Juventus have reportedly been hunting for deals already.
The Bianconeri are known for their stellar scouting quality and have landed a couple of stars for very little to no money in recent history. Just think about Sami Khedira, Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo, and Carlos Tevez.
So how about swapping players? Time to look at three potential swap deals the Old Lady should consider.
Swap deal 1: Alvaro Morata to Real Madrid for Isco
It has been somewhat of transfer saga regarding Alvaro Morata. Real Madrid have been rumoured to want to exercise their buy-back clause for the Spaniard, but Juventus have also reportedly been in constant negotiations with Los Blancos about a permanent transfer for the 23-year-old.
Morata’s buy-back clause is worth €30m, while Juve are rumoured to be willing to go as far as €20m to get the Spainish international to join them on a permanent basis. However, the Bianconeri are also hunting for a playmaker, a creative wizard that is able to get them over the hump in the Champions League.
That man could be Isco. The 24-year-old has been unable to crack Zinedine Zidane’s starting eleven consistently, but has shown glimpses of his speed, dribbling, and playmaking abilities. Morata has been used as a substitute all season, despite his clear talents as a striker. However, with Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala in check, Juve could afford losing Morata if they get a player like Isco in return.
Swap deal 2: Kingsley Coman to Bayern Munich for Mario Gotze
It’s been obvious that Mario Gotze is not going to stay at Bayern Munich in the summer. The Germany international has been derailed by injuries this season, but wasn’t a starter for Pep Guardiola when he was healthy. Therefore, the 23-year-old has appeared in only 20 games in all competitions. Juventus were linked with a transfer for the playmaker last summer, but were unable to work out a deal.
However, with Gotze primed to leave Bayern and Kingsley Coman’s loan deal in mind, the Bianconeri should just go out and propose a swap. Bayern can make Coman’s deal permanent by paying Juve €23 million after the 2016/2017 season. Considering the Frenchman’s solid performances for the Bundesliga giants, Juve could drop that fee if they get Gotze in return.
That would make sense for both clubs, as Juve would gain another experienced and creative player, while Bayern dump Gotze’s salary while they don’t have to pay a single Euro to get Coman, who’s considered an enormous talent.
Swap deal 3: Simone Zaza + Mauricio Isla to Marseille for Michy Batshuayi
Having one true striker isn’t enough (considering Juve would swap Morata for Isco), meaning Juve should hunt for another one on the transfer market. They seem to favour a move for a younger striker, despite the many rumours linking the Old Lady to Edinson Cavani, who’s 29.
However, Juve have also been heavily linked to 22-year-old Michy Batshuayi. The Belgium international has been Marseille’s best player during a very poor season, scoring 16 goals in Ligue 1 so far. Batshuayi has also provided nine assists for l’OM, adding an extra dimension to his developing game. Juve have even been rumoured to have obtained an option on Batshuayi when they made Mario Lemina’s move permanent.
But why not send Simone Zaza to France for the Belgian, while making Mauricio Isla’s stay at Marseille permanent without a fee to be paid by the French club? Batshuayi has proven to be able to carry an attack, while also showing his ability to dribble, make plays for others, and work hard. Zaza enjoyed a solid first season in Turin and has been a perfect fourth option upfront. However, he’s clearly much more limited than Batshuayi, who could turn out to be a starter when Mandzukic’s peak form is over.
16 Comments
Interesting idea’s Vince! Do you think they are likely to happen though?
I really want to keep Morata.. But the Batshuayi deal sounds good to me, we have to do something with Isla before he also walks away as a free agent!
I like all three to be honest, but most of all the Coman/Gotze deal. I really like Gotze… He can do it all offensively.
All very interesting indeed. I would disagree with Option #1, only because I want Morata to stay. However, if we are willing to pay 20 million for Morata to stay, and considering how Real can buy him back for 30 million, wouldn’t that mean we value him at 50 million? If so, he is worth more than Isco is, who I believe is worth 35-40 million. A straight swap in that case would be leaving us short.
Option #2 looks very enticing. Coman is pretty much already gone, and since Bayern have paid 7 million, another 23 million would make it 30 overall. To me, thats exactly how much we should pay for Gotze. So a straight swap in this instance would make sense for both parties, if Gotze wants to leave Germany.
I disagree with Option #3, again only because I’d rather keep Zaza. If he does get sold, then we could make a lot more for him from an English club rather than Marseille, and I wont be surprised if we get offered 25-30 million for his services from an EPL side, especially if he has a decent Euros. At that point, its up to Zaza himself what he wants to do. I think we should be keeping most of the players who have performed this season, or atleast been part of the current squad this season, which is why I want Morata and Zaza to both stay. These two are good enough, and they are both developing anyway. We don’t need anyone like Batshuayi. Isla + De Ceglie = Lemina for me.
Morata offers exceptional pace, the ability to turn and drive towards goal from anywhere on the pitch and his positional sense and movement is intelligent. If he leaves, we will be forced to purchase another of his quality for the front line, regardless of how secure we can seem with Dybala and Mandzukic. Anyone who witnessed the second leg of the Munich war will surely agree that Mario is not ideal at the top level. Players without any pace are simply too easy to mark by elite defenders. So whilst the swap routine with Isco is logical in regards to our longstanding hunt for quality trequartista, the move presents the need to sign another of potentially world class talent, which Morata – I believe – has in spades.
I doubt Gotze will be eager to drop his wages by moving to Juve when he can increase them by moving to the premier league. Also…Ancelotti may well wish to keep the lad.
West Ham seem to be offering 40m for Batshuayi, who may well be ear-marked as the replacement for Morata if he decides to head elsewhere. It seems horrid but the reality is he could earn more money at the Irons and be playing in a beautiful new stadium in front of frenzied crowds in the premier league. No champions league football of course…that is our major draw card alongside our prestige and squad.
Zero chance that Zaza would have any interest in moving from Juve to a mid table french side in need of selling off their best players to balance the books.
West Ham could still yet make the Champions League, they have a very good chance if they win all their games. I can see Zaza moving there, or to Leicester, or even a relegation-battling English team. You’re right, it is truly unfortunate.
I agree except for the Batshuayi part. Dark are the days when a player chooses West Ham over Juve.
And sorry TGP for falling short from replying to a previous post of yours in regards to Matic, I was absent these couple of days.
Pros of having Matic:
He is Solid a proven.
Would cost much less than Gomez which leaves the possibility of purchasing a quality Trequartista.
Way better than the other “economical” options being discussed as Biglia or Montolivo!
Cons:
It’s a gamble after his form last year.
Anything above 20 million is excessive.
He’s 27 soon to be 28 and I prefer to have a long term solution. Marchisio would be 31 next year and Khedira 29. We don’t want to have to change our midfield every couple of years.
Ciao.
No trouble at all, Imad. I am jolly to find your response! I cannot bring myself to put Biglia in the same bracket as Montolivo, the former is far more potent.
What seems likely is that with Radja heading to Chelsea, they will sell a midfielder. It might be Oscar or it might be Matic. I would be happy with either or both. Speaking to a Chelsea supporter at work today he seemed far more opposed to the Matic sale than that of Oscar. I can see why. I see the only gamble of whether he fits our style and Serie A. Huge confidence he would be a major asset and allow our creative players higher up the field to operate with more freedom and space. He is a player who can dominate a midfield for the entire 90.
And it would make me smile to see any player Conte deemed unworthy of his new shiny blues, put his charges to the sword in the future! It is going to be interesting to see how he fares in England. He left in wholly undignified circumstances, has done very little positive with La Nazionale and yet again, I find his decision to sign for Chelsea before the tournament, and even focus on their squad, a very poor show indeed when he should be 100% focused on the EUROs. Wretched of Tavecchio to allow a manager to use the job to merely maintain exposure and tread water before an opening elsewhere drew him away.
Indeed its horrifying to ponder that any player could choose the Irons over Juve. Yet its highly possible. A close brotherly friend from the motherland is a die hard fan and I reacted terribly viciously when he suggested the same, yet he is correct. They can more than rival us for money on offer, city appeal and league appeal. We will play them to inaugurate their move to the new stadium in early August.
No point in paying Real Madrid to keep Morata. If he wants to stay the clause is worthless. If he wants to go back home there is no point in offering money. Either way it would be like throwing money down the toilet. It’s the same situation with Coman. Why would Bayern offer to pay more money. You never see them reporting something that idiotic.
Bayern have so far only paid 7 million for his 2 year loan. They have an option after that to pay another 21 million to make it permanent. No other amounts of money will be offered, the terms of the contract were already agree.
And so are the terms in Moratas deal. If he wants to go back the fee is 30 million Euros. If he wants to stay he stays and the transfer fee is already paid. Why on earth would Juventus pay them more money.
That’s a very good argument, one which I am not sure about myself. But Marotta has come out himself and said that we are prepared to pay 20 million more for him. I’m not sure about this deal as much anymore, I’m with you and TGP. If Morata really wanted to stay 100%, then we wouldn’t need to pay any more money, we already own him completely. It’s a weird one.
I think Real know they can get 50-60 million for him, so they could profit up to 30 million by using the clause. It’s in their best interests to do that. Maybe we can offer only 20 million more, which is less profit than Real could potentially make, and maybe that is where the will of the player comes in, and he can decide to stay at Juve and all parties involved go home with something. I’m not too sure, but that’s the only thing that makes some sense to me.
If I may correct you, It’s not up to Morata to go back or not. He signed the buy-back clause which means if they activate it, he doesn’t need to sign a contract with real, there is already a contract between them. So the only one who has a saying in the buy back clause is real, that’s why Morata said earlier “He wants the whole matter to be decided as soon as possible so he can know where to purchase a house”, which gives the impression he waits for a decision and can not make one. The tricky part in the mess is that Real doesn’t want Morata back to play him. They want him back to sell him directly and make a profit. In this case it does require Morata do agree on such deal because it involves signing a new contract with a third party. This is the only place we have an edge. Now some might say let Morata screw Real in this and tell them he won’t agree a move, thus making them not want him back because they do not benefit from him from the bench. However it seems Morata wants to stay neutral to both teams and let them do their own business regardless of his influence. Which is why paying an extra 20 million was brought up, it’s a way of Juventus saying “We want Morata, but we won’t use him to blackmail you”.
Interesting indeed, thanks for clarifying.
Best explanation I have found, comrade. And you have highlighted the point of the story where I believe Morata could well dig his heels in but is choosing not to. The reasons for this could cost us 20m! And what are those reasons eh? Respect for Real? Who wish to use him as a piece of capital to sell onto other clubs for yet more gold? Perhaps he feels he owes them something? Or perhaps he likes the idea of heading to the premier league? There remains an unknown element which we may never know. I would simply like the situation to be sorted and whilst I understand respect between clubs of such stature, I also find it too much to believe that Beppe and the club would have agreed to a deal which left any success of Morata open to him moving regardless of whether he found love for Juve.
I don’t believe that is how this works. The whole reason for a buy-back-clause is so Juventus may not ask market value or trigger a bidding war for Morata IF he decides to leave. I do not believe Real Madrid can trigger the clause unless Morata wants to go back. If the player has no say in this why even pay a tranfer fee in the first place. It would just be a loan deal with a option to make it permanent. Right now Morata is by all intents and purposes a Juventus owned player. The only reason Juventus are offering, or considering offering, Real Madrid any money is to take the decision out of Moratas hands. If he wants to go back or he wants to stay basically none of the clubs have a decision to make. The transfer is already made.
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