Sami Khedira announced he would leave Real Madrid at the end of this season when his contract ran out, and multiple teams joined the hunt for the German international.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United were the big-name Premier League outfits hoping to have the 28-year-old’s expertise to strengthen their rosters.
Khedira has made over 100 appearances at Real Madrid since 2010, subsequent to his departure from VfB Stuttgart, where he rose through the ranks from the youth academy to his first senior team appearance in 2006.
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In the wake of rumors detailing a imminent move to Serie, Juventus director Beppe Marotta has spoke out and clarified that Khedira’s switch to Serie A is basically a foregone conclusion.
Per Football-Italia.net:“We are very close to Khedira and will announce it officially when pen is put to paper,” confessed Marotta after this week’s medical.
“We moved swiftly and tenaciously because he has everything we were looking for. It is a winning group and we took the opportunity to further raise the quality level.”
Los Blancos have made it difficult for the defensive midfielder to raise his status further and gain a starting minutes, given Real’s knack for spending big and acquiring bundles of talented players.
Injury problems have also slowed Khedira’s progress, notably this year, and he has only appeared once for the La Liga powerhouse in the past five months.
Khedira is expected to earn €4 million per season and arrive in Turin on a free transfer, supposedly to be joined by Palermo forward Paulo Dybala.
The free transfer aspect of this Khedira situation is very appealing to Juve, considering they save about €20 million in fees and receive an aerially-adept sweeper capable of succeeding in Italy.
Juventus will take on Barcelona in the Champions League final on June 6.