b&w & read all over 
25-03-2024 14:04
25-03-2024 14:04
Report: Fiorentina won’t pick up buy option to make Arthur’s loan deal permanent
One of the more frustrating aspects of the very ineffective transfer business of the late 2010s and early 2020s is the simple fact that is has led to Juventus’ roster being incredibly bloated with players who are tough to offload. One of the main examples of that has been everybody’s favorite Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo, who has gone from plusvalenza signee to heading out on loan the last two seasons.
And as much as Arthur’s stint in Florence this season has gone much, much better than when he headed out to Liverpool — then again, you can’t get much worse — it appears as though it’s not enough to overcome the challenges of signing him outright a few months from now.
That means Arthur is once again heading toward a summer of unknowns, with 27-year-old Brazilian set to return to Turin once the 2023-24 season is over, according to a report from Fabrizio Romano over the weekend. Fiorentina held a buy option of €20 million, but will not be activating it, per Romano, despite Arthur’s solid showings so far this season — a move that, according to previous reports, could simply come down to La Viola being unable to afford the Brazilian’s massive salary.
According to capology.com, Arthur is Fiorentina’s third-highest paid player. However, previous reports have indicated that Juventus have covered a good amount of his salary this season so that he could finalize his loan move to Florence.
Fiorentina will not trigger the buy option clause for €20m to sign Arthur Melo on permanent deal. Brazilian midfielder set to return to Juventus in June with talks to follow in order to find new solution. pic.twitter.com/Z7XFI4C7C1 — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 23, 2024
When announcing that Arthur had signed with Fiorentina on loan for the 2023-24 season, it was also announced that he had signed a contract extension with Juventus through 2026, a move that allowed new sporting chief Cristiano Giuntoli to spread the Brazilian’s salary out over another year. It is something that Giuntoli is expected to try and do with some other notable high salaries at Juventus this coming summer, but it also means that Arthur is on Juventus’ books for another season.
That is unless they can get him completely off their books this coming summer.
Has Arthur done enough to actually have another club be it in Italy or Spain (or elsewhere) drop €15 million or even €20 million on him to sign him on a permanent deal? I really don’t know. Considering the year with Liverpool that he was coming off of in 2022-23, there really was nowhere to go but up. Moving to a club like Fiorentina where he would be able to try and get his career back on track has seemingly worked out at least somewhat well. He’s played in 27 games, starting 20, and over 1,600 minutes total in Serie A — which, for somebody who was out injured for much of the previous season, seems important.
But, again, if Juve can’t figure something out with Fiorentina despite the fact he’s coming back to Turin, then Giuntoli is going to be right where he was last season — trying to flip Arthur to another club in the summer. Considering that Juve need cash in the worst possible way again this summer, having somebody who was looked at to be a potential source of some sort of influx of cash maybe not totally being that isn’t the best news.
And as much as Arthur’s stint in Florence this season has gone much, much better than when he headed out to Liverpool — then again, you can’t get much worse — it appears as though it’s not enough to overcome the challenges of signing him outright a few months from now.
That means Arthur is once again heading toward a summer of unknowns, with 27-year-old Brazilian set to return to Turin once the 2023-24 season is over, according to a report from Fabrizio Romano over the weekend. Fiorentina held a buy option of €20 million, but will not be activating it, per Romano, despite Arthur’s solid showings so far this season — a move that, according to previous reports, could simply come down to La Viola being unable to afford the Brazilian’s massive salary.
According to capology.com, Arthur is Fiorentina’s third-highest paid player. However, previous reports have indicated that Juventus have covered a good amount of his salary this season so that he could finalize his loan move to Florence.
Fiorentina will not trigger the buy option clause for €20m to sign Arthur Melo on permanent deal. Brazilian midfielder set to return to Juventus in June with talks to follow in order to find new solution. pic.twitter.com/Z7XFI4C7C1 — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 23, 2024
When announcing that Arthur had signed with Fiorentina on loan for the 2023-24 season, it was also announced that he had signed a contract extension with Juventus through 2026, a move that allowed new sporting chief Cristiano Giuntoli to spread the Brazilian’s salary out over another year. It is something that Giuntoli is expected to try and do with some other notable high salaries at Juventus this coming summer, but it also means that Arthur is on Juventus’ books for another season.
That is unless they can get him completely off their books this coming summer.
Has Arthur done enough to actually have another club be it in Italy or Spain (or elsewhere) drop €15 million or even €20 million on him to sign him on a permanent deal? I really don’t know. Considering the year with Liverpool that he was coming off of in 2022-23, there really was nowhere to go but up. Moving to a club like Fiorentina where he would be able to try and get his career back on track has seemingly worked out at least somewhat well. He’s played in 27 games, starting 20, and over 1,600 minutes total in Serie A — which, for somebody who was out injured for much of the previous season, seems important.
But, again, if Juve can’t figure something out with Fiorentina despite the fact he’s coming back to Turin, then Giuntoli is going to be right where he was last season — trying to flip Arthur to another club in the summer. Considering that Juve need cash in the worst possible way again this summer, having somebody who was looked at to be a potential source of some sort of influx of cash maybe not totally being that isn’t the best news.