Over the past week, it seems like things have been checked off one by one to get the reported swap deal between Juventus and Aston Villa that’s centered around midfielder Douglas Luiz. One development after another made things look like they were heading toward one conclusion — which involved Juve signing a new midfielder in a very unique way.
Except we’ve reached the point in negotiations of the final few pieces that aren’t exactly getting checked off as fast as the others.
Or at least one very noticeable one.
According to reports out of Italy from the likes of Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio and TuttoJuve’s Mirko Di Natale, one player involved in the deal still has some details to iron out. That would be current Juve midfielder Weston McKennie, who has still yet to agree to personal terms with Aston Villa as he looks to make a potential return to the Premier League a year and a half after his ill-fated loan spell at Leeds United. While we don’t know for sure how far apart the two sides are, it is at least to the point in which there’s some sort of standoff potentially brewing unless something can be sorted out relatively soon knowing that Aston Villa have until the end of the month to make this deal happen and get close to being in compliance with profit and sustainability rules in England.
On a live Q&A on Monday, Fabrizio Romano said things a little differently, reporting that there are no issues with McKennie and Aston Ville on a contract but rather the conditions in which the American midfielder will leave Juventus. Essentially, some sort of compensation — or, in another word, “severance” — from Juventus to McKennie to make his part of the transfer go through.
Romano made one point perfectly clear: “The deal is not collapsing. It is still absolutely on.”
#Calciomercato | Bloccato, al momento, lo scambio tra Juventus e Aston Villa che porterebbe Douglas Luiz in bianconero. Manca l'intesa definitiva tra McKennie e il club inglese. Parti al lavoro per risolvere. @SkySport https://t.co/R4k58PA4L0
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 17, 2024
Or maybe we should go with what Mirko said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday: “Calm down, it will still take some time. The negotiation continues, so don’t panic.”
Either way, whatever McKennie does have to work out and agree to something with Aston Villa, maybe something with Juventus, or maybe even something with both sides of the swap deal that would see Douglas Luiz arrive in Turin.
This is the one remaining hurdle left before the deal can be finalized and the three players can join their respective teams. Douglas Luiz has reportedly agreed to terms with Juventus. Samuel Iling-Junior, the other Juve player who is included in this three-player and cash swap deal, has reportedly agreed to terms with Aston Villa and has spoken with manager Unai Emery about what his role would be if/when he returns to London. All that leaves is McKennie to get things sorted and this deal — one that is being viewed as very important for Thiago Motta’s Juventus — will get over the hump and across the finish line.
With that being said, now we’re all playing the waiting game. It’s not a fun one, but it seems like with the end of the fiscal year looming, there’s only so many more days to go before this deal can happen and Villa’s books can be made to look a little better. So we wait.
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