It is being reported this weekend that Premier League side Newcastle United have now apparently entered the race for Juventus winger Federico Chiesa, and have joined a host of other English sides (such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur) in expressing their interest in him.
The 26 year old versatile Italian attacker has notched up an impressive 42 caps for his country and after a long stay with Fiorentina, he initially made the move to Juventus on a two year loan deal, and having impressed the Bianconeri made his deal permanent in the summer of 2022.
His stock is clearly on the rise, becoming a crucial member of their side in recent years, and he helped his country lift the 2021 European Championships, but a cruciate ligament injury in January 2022 did take him off the map a touch, and he has struggled with successive niggly issues since as he looks to return to his best levels of fitness. Following his return last October, he has missed a total of 18 games for Juve, and has not played a full 90 minutes for Italy since November 2021.
He started this campaign very brightly with four goals and an assist in the opening five matches, and with long standing interest from the Premier League, that form has seen a number of links return as January and the reopening of the transfer window heads ever nearer.
Whatever the truth of this more recent speculation appearing on the rumour mill might prove to be, the claims being made centre around Juventus being willing to sell the player now if their valuation is met, but only if talks on a new contract do not progress well enough in their mind – although even then, he is still contracted up until the summer of 2025.
With Newcastle and manager Eddie Howe being the latest to get a reference, reports suggest that they are ‘already preparing an offer’ for Chiesa which could be worth ‘more than 60 million Euros’ but with other clubs involved, Juve will be watching the situation carefully for any potential bidding war that might be kicked off.
With that said, ‘…the management are at work…’ on his new deal still, and at this stage they see very little reason as to why he would not commit his longer term future to the club given the plaudits and praise that have gone his way since originally moving to the Allianz Stadium.
Like all speculation in football, fans will have to wait and see what ultimately happens.
