Juventus are moving to secure midfielder Manuel Locatelli’s future, after Roberto De Zerbi reportedly pushed him as a target for Tottenham Hotspur.
Tuttomercatoweb report that Locatelli will be the next to sign a new contract with Juventus. CEO Damien Comolli has himself announced that the deal will be signed shortly.
“We could have some news in the next few days regarding a new contract, but not about Vlahovic,” he said.
“I’ve always said we’d talk about Dusan at the end of the season, and that’s what we’ll be talking about. Discussions have taken place, but don’t expect anything before the end of the season.”
Contract until 2030
TMW now report that Manuel Locatelli will sign a two-year contract extension until 2030. The deal has been agreed with Juventus.
His current contract runs until 2028, but the new deal will extend that. It will also include an option to extend it further to 2031. The Italian club have moved quickly to secure the 28-year-old.
He’s a key player under Luciano Spaletti, who has made him a leader of the team. He will greatly appreciate the effort made to secure his future. That effort may have come thanks to growing interest from Tottenham.
De Zerbi wants him at Tottenham
Sport Witness covered a report at the beginning of the month which stated that Roberto De Zerbi named Manuel Locatelli as a key target to Tottenham’s leadership.
It explained that De Zerbi had spoken to Tottenham’s ownership about transfer targets before his arrival. He reportedly put Locatelli’s name forward as someone who can help improve the team in future.
He has a close relationship with the midfielder, having worked with him between 2019 and 2021 at Sassuolo. His performances under De Zerbi earned him a move to Juventus in 2023. Now he wants a reunion in London, if Tottenham avoid relegation.
But it appears that Juventus have moved to shut down the possibility. Locatelli would have been in the final two years of his deal this summer. Instead, he’ll now be tied down with four years remaining, effectively closing the door to a departure.