Juventus will not be moving for Nottingham Forest defender Murillo this summer, as they can’t get another non-EU player into their squad.
That’s according to journalist Alfredo Pedulla, who reports that simple fact could lead Juventus to target Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior instead.
Juventus are keen to improve their squad this summer for new manager Thiago Motta and have already set about doing so, with a move for Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz in the final stages and several other deals in the pipeline, including a move for youngster Vasilije Adzic.
Those two deals in particular will have a knock-on effect on their future business, at least according to Pedulla, who explains that they will take up the remaining non-EU spots in Juventus’ squad.
That means they’ll have to be specific about the players they now target and that means a move to sign Murillo from Nottingham Forest is not on the cards.
“With the arrival of Douglas Luiz and Adzic, Juventus cannot sign other non-EU players, so any talk about Murillo from Nottingham Forest or other candidates has no reason to exist, we are at wastepaper level,” Sport Italia report him saying.
“Juventus will have to get a central defender, but at least we are at the level of evaluations because – at least in these days – most of the investments are concentrated on midfield and attacking midfield.
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And one of those alternative options for the Italian giants could be Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior, who has been linked with a return to Italy this summer.
He joined Arsenal from Spezia Calcio in January 2023 but has barely featured under Mikel Arteta since arriving, featuring in just 28% of the available minutes in the Premier League this season.
AC Milan are known to be admirers and have been for some time, but Pedulla says Juventus are interested in the Arsenal man too.
“Yesterday we told you about Todibo from Nice, we can add the name Kiwior who Thiago Motta has known and appreciated since his time at Spezia,” he added.
“In the past, the Pole born in 2000 had also been followed by Milan, but one thing is certain: Arsenal spent around twenty million and certainly won’t give him away.”
