Juventus are reportedly closing in on completing the deal to sign Wojciech Szczesny from Arsenal this summer.
According to a report in the Daily Mirror, Wojciech Szczesny is on the verge of joining Juventus in this summer transfer window. The Polish goalkeeper has been left out of Arsenal’s squad for their pre-season tour to Australia and China, providing an indication that a deal could be completed soon.
Szczesny has resurrected his career following a fruitful two-year loan spell at AS Roma, having lost his place in the Arsenal starting lineup in the second half of the 2014/15 season.
Petr Cech’s arrival in the summer of 2015 had threatened to send the Pole further down the pecking, and he chose to move to Rome in search of regular first-team football.
Meanwhile, Szczesny’s resurgence at Roma was apparent for everyone to see. And the 2016/17 season was arguably one of the best that the shot stopper has enjoyed in his senior career, after keeping a league high 14 clean sheets in 38 Serie A games.
Szczesny has been left out of Arsenal’s squad for their pre-season tour of Australia as his move to Juventus edges closer. pic.twitter.com/D6UE8cDwId
— ? FA Cup Winners ? (@tomgunner14) July 10, 2017
Following the culmination of his loan spell with Roma, Szczesny has now returned to Arsenal. But Cech is believed to still be the firm first-choice goalkeeper as the Emirates, which is why the Poland international is set call time on his Arsenal career.
And the club that looks the likeliest to sign him this summer are Juventus, having been heavily linked with the player. Goalkeeping is one department that the Bianconeri have not had to worry about for over a decade and a half with one of the best shot stoppers of all time, Gianluigi Buffon manning the goal.
But at 39, the veteran Italian goalkeeper is fast approaching the end of his glittering career and Juventus are keen to lay the succession plan for him into motion. Therefore, they have identified Szczesny as the perfect long-term successor to Buffon following a successful spell with Roma.
While Arsene Wenger is believed to be keen to keep hold of the 27-year-old, he is now resigned to losing him, with the player determined to join Juventus. Thus, Szczesny has been left out of Arsenal’s pre-season squad so that he can complete his move to the newly christened Allianz Stadium.
It now remains to be seen if the two clubs are able to reach a common ground on the transfer before the shot stopper is able to proceed to a medical. The move, though, is set to see the light of the day, with Szczesny’s eleven-year spell at Arsenal coming to an end this summer.
