The media in Italy is starting to get excited, they are reporting that Southampton's Carlos "Charly" Alcaraz is about to complete s surprise loan move to Juventus with a huge option to buy in the summer.
The news is that Charly Alcatraz is about to move to Italy on loan, but the big news is that his destination club Juventus will have a option to buy in the contract that will 40 million euros, meaning that should the option be exercised Saints will just about triple the £12 million they bought the Argentinian for a year ago, although it is understood that Racing Club in Argentina from whom Saints purchased him last January have a 15% sell on clause on any future sale, so would stand to make about 6 million euros.
Fabrizio Romano is saying it is a done deal and he is one of those journalists that usually get things right.
When he broke the story originally he claimed that the option to buy was 35 million euros, but he is now saying that Southampton held out for a higher price.
Of course this is only an option rather than an obligation to buy and Juventus could choose not to proceed with the purchase in the summer.
Romano had this to say on his X account.
Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
⚪️⚫️🇦🇷 Carlos Alcaraz will become new Juventus player today.
All parties working on it, player’s agent also in UK to get the deal sealed with medical also in London later today.
Understand buy option will be more than €40m.
The arrival of Alcaraz is causing some excitement in the Juventus camp and they have high hopes that he will be a success, Southampton supporters though have more mixed emotions, although they see him as a great talent, it is perhaps not suited to not only a club like Southampton even in the Premier League and definitely not in the Championship.
Comparisons can perhaps be drawn with an ex Southampton player Sadio Mane, not in the style of their play, but in the fact that in his two years at St Mary's, Mane hardly set the World alight, for the first 2/3 of both seasons Mane was decidedly average, he showed glimpses of talent but it was only in the final third of both seasons he exploded into life.
That perhaps wasn't his fault, it was the style of play that Saints were forced to employ to succeed in the Premier League.
It was a surprise when Liverpool were prepared to pay a similar fee that Juventus will have to fork out in the summer for Alcaraz, but they had watched the player and knew he would flourish at Anfield where he would not be expected to track back so much, his job was all about in the final third of the field.
I feel that Alcaraz in a top side would flourish, there is no doubting his talent, but it all comes in the final third, his style is different to Mane's ,but the result would be the same, I think he will be a big success, if he is not at Juventus then somewhere else.
So I am a little sad that it hasn't worked out for him at St Mary's, it is not for a lack of effort on his part, no one could question his effort, but our style at present doesn't suit his, hence the strange situation where a top club in Europe is willing to pay around £35 million for a player who can't get a regular starting place in the Championship.