Football Italia
·5 October 2024
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·5 October 2024
Porto loanee Francisco Conceição has only played 151 minutes for Juventus since joining in the summer, but the club are already considering making his move permanent as he reportedly ‘convinced everyone’ at the Allianz Stadium.
The Bianconeri signed the attacking winter in the closing stages of the summer transfer window. Still, after having spent almost €200m on new singings, they had to discard the idea of paying Conceição’s €30m buy-out clause, settling for a lucrative temporary deal that saw the Turin side pay €7m plus €3m on bonuses to secure the player.
But even if the 21-year-old was deemed a valuable back-up for Nico Gonzalez, at least on paper, it is fair to say he’s taken all his chances to impress his coach Thiago Motta so far, scoring both in Serie A and the Champions League.
Conceição came on after just 12 minutes during Juventus’ Champions League fixture at Leipzig mid-week to replace the injured Nico Gonzalez, and although his impact wasn’t immediately felt, he remained on the pitch for the rest of the match and scored a superb solo strike that gave a 10-man Bianconeri side an unexpected and deserved win.
His Messi-esque goal on his European debut with the Bianconeri was just the coronation of a positive start to the season that also saw him find his first Serie A goal just a few days earlier, once again coming on as a substitute.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Conceição’s first displays at the Allianz Stadium have already earned him the trust of the club, who are convinced of striking a permanent deal with Porto before the end of the season.
While Conceição’s loan doesn’t include an option-to-buy, the pink newspaper reports that a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ between the two clubs will pave the way for future negotiations, as Juventus will pay the Portuguese side a €30m cheque, corresponding to the player’s buy-out clause.
The Bianconeri are confident of completing the move in the Spring of 2025, as their good relationships with Porto will serve as a sort of right of pre-emption to fend off potential competition from other clubs.