In news that no Southampton fan will have missed, the Saints allowed Carlos Alcaraz to join Juventus on loan until the end of the season with a €49.5m option to buy.
That last part was the real eyebrow raiser, as it seemed unlikely the Serie A side would ever pay that to their Championship counterparts, and that continues to be the case.
This is what Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting on Thursday, analysing the Southampton loanee’s situation, as the youngster is currently out injured.
The setback means he will have even less time to convince Juventus to fork out money for him, even if he had been trending in the right direction prior to the injury.
However, what could play in the Italian club’s favour is what Southampton end up doing in the Championship, as a failure to make it back to the Premier League could help the Turin residents.
It’s explained that Juventus are ‘developing the idea’ of asking the St Mary’s side ‘for another loan’, as they know that Alcaraz himself would be ‘unlikely to return’ to play in the second tier.
That is ‘barring a major offer’ from another club, of course, which is why a new temporary spell could be on the cards.
Should all this happen, then Juventus ‘would be the first choice’ for the player himself, as he arrived in Italy ‘with the idea of remaining there’.
While this scenario remains a ‘distant hypothesis’ for now, all depending on how Southampton do, it could become a ‘concrete reality in June’, which would make both Juventus and the 21-year-old happy.
