As much as Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2022-23 Bundesliga opener was ruined by a certain Bavarian giant Friday night, the Europa League champions had something to immediately hang their hat on — the European Super Cup was in a matter of a few days.
That game is on Wednesday night. And there is a relevant Juventus question entering the matchup against Real Madrid: Will Filip Kostic actually play in the Super Cup?
That is a question that is one the mind of many, but maybe something that Juventus is trying to prevent from happening so that Eintracht Frankfurt can’t even consider it. According to Tuttosport on Sunday morning, Juventus’ front office team wants to close the deal for Kostic within the next 48 hours. If that kind of timetable has you doing math in your head, it very much puts Kostic’s participation in the European Super Cup up in the air at the moment even though you can understand that Eintracht Frankfurt would very much like one of their better players available to face the Champions League holders.
(TS) "Kostic alla Juventus: l'Eintracht é rassegnato ma proverà a tenerlo fino mercoledì per la Supercoppa Europea"► https://t.co/EYrA4BVlr7 pic.twitter.com/9cmdgxc7TA
— VecchiaSignora.com (@forumJuventus) August 7, 2022
As things stand right now, much of the Italian media is reporting that Kostic has become Juventus’ No. 1 transfer priority at the moment. As much as maybe a backup to Dusan Vlahovic or trying to secure the services of Leandro Paredes are still very much in the plans, Juventus have clearly put trying to wrap up a Kostic deal at the forefront of what they’re doing on the transfer market right now.
Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner also had this to say — sarcastically — regarding Kostic’s future at the club after the loss to Bayern Munich:
“Kostic’s last game here at Eintracht? Yes, he is ready to start in Italy. That’s why I replaced him, so next week he’ll be fit for Italy.”
Now, obviously, that is a comment that is soaked in sarcasm and is said in a tongue-in-cheek manner that thankfully didn’t get lost in translation. But there are still reports out there — and you might not necessarily put much weight in it considering the source — that Frankfurt are somewhat resigned to the fact that Kostic is going to sign with Juve at some point soon.
It’s just a matter of how soon it seems to be at this point.
From what we know right now: Kostic and Juventus have been in agreement on personal terms on a contract through 2025 with a salary of around €3 million net per season. The thing that’s left is for Juventus and Eintracht Frankfurt to find an agreement on a transfer fee for Kostic. As we heard reported earlier in the week, Juventus reportedly offered €12 million plus another €3 million in bonuses, an offer that Frankfurt didn’t accept. Regardless of that first bid being rejected, much of the Italian press remains of the line of thinking that Juventus is confident of closing a deal for Kostic.
It’s just a matter of when something happens now — no matter if it’s before or after the European Super Cup.