Transfer rumor roundup 6/22: Juventus confirm Schick arrival
By Nick Pitner
Here’s a roundup of the latest news and transfer rumors surrounding which players could be joining new teams in the coming months.
The 21-year-old Czech international Patrik Schick is set to join Juventus after impressing for Sampdoria during his first Serie A season, when he totaled 11 goals and five assists in just over 1,500 minutes of action.
A tall center-forward with excellent dribbling skills and a lethal left-footed shooting technique, Schick has rightfully drawn comparisons to Robin van Persie, but his countryman and Juventus vice president Pavel Nedved sees similarities to another accomplished attacker.
Speaking about Schick’s future at the club, Nedved said, “He reminds me of Zlatan Ibrahimovic because he was like that when he came to Juve. He didn’t have the muscles either.”
“Then Zlatan gained muscles and turned into a world-class striker. Schick is also this type of striker — great feet, tall and fast,” Nedved concluded, per Goal.
Despite sporting such mouth-watering potential, Schick is only slated to cost Juventus €30 million in transfer fees, which will be paid in three installments.
Along with acquiring the heir to Gonzalo Higuain atop their formation, Juventus are also in search of right-back Dani Alves’ replacement.
With the Brazilian set to be released from his current contract, Juve have already been linked with Italian Matteo Darmian this week, but Cadena SER reports Real Madrid’s Danilo is their top target.
That comes as good news, as Real Madrid is reportedly willing to sell the 25-year-old, who arrived in Spain two years ago after catching the eye while at Porto.
Although Danilo made 17 La Liga starts this past season, the presence of Dani Carvajal blocks his path to more minutes going forward, particularly with the Spaniard being preferred for big matches.
Nonetheless, with averages of 3.0 tackles and 2.4 interceptions — both of which ranked in Madrid’s top two during their victorious league campaign, per WhoScored — Danilo is no slouch and would represent a solid signing for Juventus.
Elsewhere in Europe, midfielder Julian Brandt is anticipated to join giants Bayern Munich next summer, according to German website Tz.de.
In hopes of cementing his place in Die Mannschaft’s World Cup squad, the 21-year-old will remain at Bayer Leverkusen this upcoming campaign, before moving to Munich for the 2018-19 season.
In 32 Bundesliga appearances, Brandt registered three goals and 11 assists this past season, which earned him a call-up to Germany’s team for the Confederations Cup.
Another midfielder currently playing for his country in Russia is Portuguese product Andre Gomes, who Marca reports has been the subject of an unsuccessful €35 million offer from a Premier League club.
Next: Angel Di Maria receives prison sentence for tax fraud
Although the report fails to reveal the source of the bid, it does state that Barcelona have declared they are not looking to sell Gomes this summer, despite the 23-year-old’s tumultuous debut campaign at the club.
Gomes arrived at the Camp Nou in a shocking €50 million transfer last year, but drew jeers for his uninspired performances throughout the season, namely during Barcelona’s 4-0 demolition at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League knockout round.
Whereas Gomes’ departure has initially been ruled out, Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has received a transfer deadline of July 26, according to Bild.
After PSG withdrew their interest in Aubameyang, the Gabon international recently met with new Dortmund manager Peter Bosz, CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc to discuss his future at the club.
Over the course of a couple four-hour meetings, Aubameyang was told that Dortmund value him at €70 million in the transfer market and that any deal would need to be concluded by the start of their preseason training camp.
Should Dortmund indeed sell their 40-goal forward, who led the Bundesliga in goals this past season, it’s thought that they’d target River Plate’s Lucas Alario and Hoffenfeim’s Andrej Kramaric to help replace him.