Juventus set to sign Timothy Weah
According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus is set to sign American Timothy Weah.
Juventus has agreed a €12 million ($13.11 million) with Weah’s current club Lille. The 23-year-old is in Turin today to complete his medical tests before officially signing for the club. He is expected to put pen to paper on his five-year contract with the club on Thursday.
Juventus have reached full agreement to sign Timothy Weah, here we go ⚪️⚫️
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 27, 2023
Deal agreed on €12m fee with Lille as medical tests will take place later this week on Thursday.
Long term deal also agreed on player side, excited for new chapter in Italy.
Done, set to be signed. pic.twitter.com/J6fM6Tg2PR
Weah will be following in his father’s, the legendary George Weah, footsteps in moving to a Serie A giant. George Weah played for AC Milan during the mid-to-late nineties.
Juventus Rebuild
Juventus are coming off of a tough year in which they finished in seventh place in Serie A. The club was hit with a 10-point deduction late in the season that took them from second place to seventh place in the table.
Juventus was not able to recover, and their promising-looking 2022-2023 season collapsed with just a couple of games remaining in the season.
Next season, Juventus will have to go through the UEFA Conference League play-off round to secure European games. They will also have to prepare for another grueling batter to reach the top of Italian soccer once again with the increasing competitiveness of Serie A.
Weah is the first new signing for Juventus as they look to rebuild ahead of next season. They have also finalized the signings of Manuel Locatelli, Moise Kean and Arkadiusz Milik who were with the club on loan last season.
Weah is an incredibly versatile signing for Juventus. While he has played primarily as a winger throughout his young career, it seems like he can play anywhere on the field.
He has played as a center midfielder, can play as a striker and, more recently for Lille, can play as a wingback or a fullback on either side. His pace and skill on the ball are what make Weah so versatile, and Juventus will be able to play him in any of these positions if needed.
However, it looks like Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri wanted to sign Weah to serve as Juan Cuadrado‘s replacement. Cuadrado served as an attack-minded wingback for Juventus who was able to give the support going forward while also being able to defend on the wing.
When Cuadrado got forward, it allowed Juventus’s wingers such as Federico Chiesa the freedom to cut inside while still giving Juventus an option out wide in Cuadrado. With him leaving the club, it looks like Weah is set to fill this role for Juventus.
USMNT Ramifications
Weah will still probably play in a more attacking position for the U.S. despite moving to wingback at Juventus. Cuadrado did this for Colombia, and with Weah’s importance in the U.S.’s attack, he will likely remain a key attacker for the USMNT going forward.
Weah has scored four goals and provided three assists in his 31 caps for the U.S. so far, including the U.S.’s only goal in its 2022 World Cup opener against Wales.
He will now join fellow American Weston McKennie in Turin. However, McKennie is likely to leave the club this summer; Juventus was interested in signing Christian Pulisic, but he now looks likely to move to AC Milan, meaning Weah will likely be the lone American wearing the black and white stripes of Juventus next season.
Timothy Weah now joins Ricardo Pepi in the list of USMNT players to make big transfer moves this summer. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled because it is looking like plenty more Americans will be added to this list in the coming days and weeks.
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