Italian Football's Summer Shockwaves: Lazio Out, Juventus Building
Italian football woke up to a jolt on and off the pitch: Lazio out of the Coppa Italia at the first hurdle, Juventus closing in on their new No.1, Aston Villa hijacking a Premier League move, and a flurry of deals reshaping the market at the top.
While Italy’s athletes dominated Europe with golds for Larissa Iapichino and the 4x400 relay, the country’s big clubs were wrestling with far more complicated finishes.
Lazio crash out, Maresca’s nightmare start
The Coppa Italia delivered its first shock: Lazio eliminated by Mantova.
For Enzo Maresca, it was the kind of debut every coach dreads. A new bench, a fresh project, and an immediate cup exit against lower-tier opposition. “Nightmare debut” fits. Lazio are out, the margin for error already gone before the league season has truly taken shape.
Questions will follow quickly now. The project, the choices, the squad. The timing could not be worse.
Juventus: Vicario moves to the front, Lucumi lands
Juventus, meanwhile, are building.
The club have settled on Guglielmo Vicario as their priority in goal. Tottenham have opened the door to a loan, and there was even a night summit to move the deal forward. Spurs are ready to include an option to buy set at €15 million, a formula that suits a Juve side still carefully managing its spending.
The other name on the table, Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez, has stalled. Aston Villa will not let him go for less than €15 million, and there are lingering doubts over his recovery from a finger injury. The price gap and fitness concerns have frozen that track.
Vicario, then, is in pole.
At the back, Davinson Lucumi is already in the house. Medicals done, contract signed, unveiling to follow. At least 25,000 fans are expected for Juve’s traditional family day in front of John Elkann, and the Colombian defender will be one of the faces presented to the supporters as a symbol of this new cycle.
Aston Villa steal Suzuki from PSG, Carnevali changes course
The Premier League has snatched another headline.
Suzuki, the Japanese talent at the centre of a tug-of-war, has turned down Paris Saint-Germain and chosen Aston Villa. A clear statement: the Premier League project, and Unai Emery’s side, convinced him where PSG could not.
The decision forces a rethink in Italy. Sassuolo director Giovanni Carnevali, who had been tracking the situation closely, must now change target. The domino effect of one “no” to Paris and “yes” to Birmingham will ripple through the market in the coming days.
Villa, having landed Suzuki, are far less inclined to open the door for Martinez. That stance tightens the noose around Juve’s goalkeeper hunt and pushes Vicario even closer to Turin.
Napoli: Badia from Chelsea, Gabriel Jesus off the table
Napoli have moved with quiet precision.
The club have secured defender Badia from Chelsea on a paid loan. He is expected to undergo his medical tomorrow, another piece added to a back line that needed fresh legs and versatility.
One name is off the board, though: Arsenal have pulled Gabriel Jesus from the market. Any lingering hopes of a late swoop for the Brazilian forward have faded. Napoli will have to look elsewhere if they want one more attacking jolt before the window shuts.
Roma close in on Mora, Fofana left waiting
Roma are pushing hard on their midfield rebuild.
The Giallorossi have finally broken Porto’s resistance for Mora. The deal is set at €25 million plus 50% of any future sale, a significant bet on a player the club see as central to their next phase.
Roma had an offer ready for Fofana as well, but with Mora now within reach, that path cools. One decisive move, one sacrificed. It is the kind of market trade-off that will be judged in May.
Inter: Jones frozen out, sprint begins
At Inter, the signs are written in the team sheet.
Jones did not play for Liverpool in the friendly against Como, a detail that has not gone unnoticed in Milan. The midfielder is on Inter’s radar, and his absence fuels the sense that a move is edging closer.
The Nerazzurri are now in a sprint. They like his profile, his ability to break lines, his energy. The admiration even extended to appreciating a Stones goal in that same context, a nod to the kind of modern, ball-playing role Inter want from their midfielders.
With another rift emerging around Jones at Liverpool, Inter see their window.
Torino: Abate sounds the alarm, Perri on his way, ultras plan protest
Across the city from Juve, Torino are wrestling with their own problems.
Coach Ignazio Abate has been blunt: “Quality needed.” He wants six or seven reinforcements and has not tried to hide the structural limits of his current squad. It is a warning and a demand rolled into one.
In goal, help is coming. Brazilian goalkeeper Perri is expected in Turin by tomorrow, a first answer to Abate’s calls.
The stands, though, are heating up. The ultras are organising another protest against president Urbano Cairo on Sunday, before the match against Milan. The tension around the club is growing, and the market alone will not be enough to calm it.
From Coppa Italia shocks to hijacked transfers and coaches already under pressure, Italian football’s summer is crackling. The deals are being signed, the choices are being made. When the whistle blows for real, who will look back on this window as the moment they got it right?
