Reports: Juventus agree terms with Chelsea star to partner Cristiano Ronaldo up front
Juventus have reportedly agreed personal terms with Chelsea marksman Olivier Giroud, according to reliable journalist Gianluca di Marzio.
Giroud, 33, has less than a year to go on his current contract and it is believed that he would be allowed to leave for a fee as low as €5m. Despite only managing 10 goals in the recently concluded 2019/20 campaign, Giroud enjoyed a strong end to the season, replacing Tammy Abraham as Chelsea's front man and helping the team to the FA Cup finals and a top four league finish.
Juventus have agreed personal terms with the World Cup winning Frenchman in a two year deal which will see him earn €4.5m per year as wages.
Olivier Giroud to replace Gonzalo Higuain at Juventus
Juventus registered interest in Olivier Giroud soon after sanctioning Gonzalo Higuain's release. The Argentinian forward has reportedly agreed terms with David Beckham's MLS outfit Inter Miami and is expected to shortly arrive in USA to put pen on paper.
According to di Marzio, Giroud was not Juventus' default option to replace the outgoing Higuain. Interest was also shown in bringing Barcelona standout Luis Suarez, AS Roma's Edin Dzeko and PSG forward Edinson Cavani to Turin.
Luis Suarez was reportedly informed by new Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman that he would not be part of his plans going forward and could look for a move away from the club.
However, while Juventus was interested, they had already filled up the allocated number of spots for non-EU players in the club. As such, it was determined that the Uruguayan would need to apply for an Italian passport in order to play for the reigning Serie A champions.
The process is thought to be drawn out, with negotiations between Juventus and Barcelona expected to only commence once the passport is obtained.
AS Roma striker Edin Dzeko was also an option surveyed by new Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo but his availability has not been made clear, as I Giallorossi try and do a deal for Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik as replacement first.
With respect to Edinson Cavani, who Juventus are also interested in, di Marzio claims that Atletico Madrid are in pole position to sign the Uruguayan forward.
As things stand, Juventus reportedly view the transfer of Olivier Giroud to be a much more straight forward proposition to get over the line.
Juventus kick off their Serie A season on September 20th, in a home fixture against Sampdoria.