Juventus devise clever plan to beat Inter Milan for Serie A wonderkid

Juventus are developing a creative strategy to sign Parma's 18-year-old defender Giovanni Leoni, aiming to overtake Inter Milan in the race for the player. Leoni, who broke through at Sampdoria in Serie B during the 2023/24 campaign and subsequently joined Parma, has attracted significant interest from top Italian clubs.

While Inter initially emerged as Leoni's strongest suitors this summer, attempting to reunite him with his former Parma coach Cristian Chivu, they have failed to finalize a deal. This has opened the door for Juventus.

Juventus's proposed strategy involves offering Parma a deal worth around €35 million this summer, significantly less than his current €40 million price tag. Crucially, as part of this deal, Juventus would allow Leoni to remain on loan and continue developing at Parma for another year before joining Juventus in the summer of 2026. This contrasts with Inter's plan to bring him in immediately.

However, Juventus must first raise funds for this operation by selling current players. The club is actively working on offloading several players, including Nico Gonzalez, Timothy Weah, Douglas Luiz, and Dusan Vlahovic. Simultaneously, Juventus are negotiating deals for potential incoming players such as Randal Kolo Muani, Jadon Sancho, Nahuel Molina, and Morten Hjulmand.