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cm grafica brozovic juve
Emanuele Tramacere

Translated by

Juventus looking at free agents from Brozovic to Bissouma? List problem: cutting Locatelli is not enough..

Juventus
M. Brozovic
I. Bennacer
Y. Bissouma
T. Ndombele
Transfers
AC Milan
Lazio

The injury to the Azzurri captain leaves a huge void in midfield for Juventus, who cannot replace him with a free agent without having to make another cut.

This was the last thing they needed. Luciano Spalletti has been hit by another major injury blow in the 2026/2027 season and, after the setbacks suffered by Yildiz and Thuram, must now reluctantly cope without captain Manuel Locatelli for almost five months as well.

Locatelli has undergone knee surgery and his absence inevitably leaves a huge gap in a department where Juventus had already been "forced" to bring Douglas Luiz back into the fold and to keep Teun Koopmeiners too, almost against their will. That means the pair must now be considered virtual first choices, because the idea of an immediate free transfer signing is inevitably running into a further regulatory problem.


  • Brozovic and not only

    The standout name, not least because Juventus chased him for much of the summer and still have him firmly in mind, is former Inter man Marcelo Brozovic. The Croatian, who is also attracting interest from Lazio, has been without a club since his contract with Al Nassr expired and is looking for the next step in his career, potentially with a return to Italy.

    According to Tuttosport, Juventus have also been offered Yves Bissouma, who is without a club after leaving Tottenham, Ismael Bennacer, who became a free agent after leaving AC Milan but is heading for a move to Qatar, and Tanguy Ndombele, who previously had a spell in Italy with Napoli and is a free agent after leaving Nice.

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  • The lists problem

    The Locatelli issue for Juventus, though, runs much deeper. Squad planning has to follow strict and significant criteria, both financially, because the salary offered to a possible free-transfer signing would affect the delicate balance of the Juventus wage bill, which is already under Uefa scrutiny, and on a technical and regulatory level.

    On the regulatory side, the Italian midfielder was a "particular" player for Juventus when it came to the lists submitted to Uefa, where he was not replaceable, and Serie A. Locatelli is in fact a "FIGC trained" player, meaning he was developed in the youth systems of Italian clubs, and he fills one of the four slots reserved for this type of player.

  • For a “foreigner”, another outgoing transfer is needed

    The Serie A list can be altered and updated, but to replace Locatelli with a "foreign" player, or rather one not developed in Italian youth academies, such as Brozovic and the other names mentioned, another player would in fact have to make way.

    Juventus would have to leave out a foreign player. On top of that, once the New Year begins, the already excluded Khephren Thuram will in any case also have to return to that list.

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