Juventus have acquired the services of Lloyd Kelly on loan from Newcastle United, but it appears that the Englishman is destined to stay beyond the current campaign.
The Bianconeri also bolstered their backline by signing the young Portuguese duo of Alberto Costa and Renato Veiga from Vitoria Guimaraes and Chelsea respectively. However, they still needed extra reinforcement since Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal are out for the season while Danilo left the club, not to mention that Pierre Kalulu will miss the next weeks through injury.
Hence, the cash-strapped Juventus resorted to Kelly who was available due to his lack of playing time at St. James Park. The 26-year-old signed for the Magpies on a free transfer after seeing out his contract with Bournemouth at the end of last season. However, he just couldn’t carve himself a starting role in Eddie Howe’s lineup.
Juventus thus jumped on the opportunity to sign the Englishman on loan with an obligation to buy. As the club’s official statement revealed, this transfer, although temporary in nature, should be considered a permanent purchase from a financial standpoint as the obligation-to-buy clause is likely to be triggered.
While the official note didn’t mention the condition, but only stated the figures (which should reach circa 20 million euros in total), IlBianconero revealed that Juventus will be obliged to buy Kelly if they end up qualifying for any European competition at the end of the season, whether it may be the Champions League, the Europa League or even the Conference League.
So barring a calamitous end to the campaign, it appears that the English defender is here to stay. The Bianconeri have already paid 3 million euros in loan fees, and will have to splash another 14.5 million on the purchase, in addition to bonuses that could reach a maximum of 6.5 million.
