Now that Juventus officially have a managerial opening a few weeks earlier than pretty much everybody expected, the wheels appear to be starting to be put in motion for the guy everybody expects to be Max Allegri’s full-time replacement.
Yes, even though he is still technically under contract with another club.
According to reports out of Italy over the last 24 hours, Juventus have officially offered Bologna manager Thiago Motta a three-year contract through 2027 to become their new head coach. Previous reports said that the contract could be a two-year deal with an option for a third, but SportItalia’s Alfredo Pedulla as well as Fabrizio Romano have both said the third year of the contract is very much a guaranteed one, with Motta being offered a salary in the neighborhood of €3.5 million a season.
Motta, who has reportedly been Juve chief Cristiano Giuntoli’s top choice to replace Allegri for months now, has refused to discuss a new contract with Bologna despite the club insisting on opening talks. That has only fueled the speculation that he is going to be on the move once the season comes to an end despite how well Bologna’s season has played out.
Thiago #Motta-#Juventus: si lavora su un triennale più che su un biennale con opzione. Le cifre che girano (3,5 milioni a stagioni) sono un po’ al ribasso rispetto alla verità
— Alfredo Pedullà (@AlfredoPedulla) May 17, 2024
With Allegri’s dismissal on Friday, you have to believe a lot of the focus over the next couple of days will be about Motta and how soon Juventus can get a deal done once the season comes to a close next weekend. Juve, who travel face Motta and Bologna on Monday in a meeting of third place against fourth place, have clinched their spot in next season’s Champions League, thus deeming the last two games of the 2023-24 campaign rather meaningless other than final positioning in the Serie A table.
Motta’s work at Bologna has been the feel-good story of the season, helping the club qualify for a European competition for the first time in 60 years. Bologna are currently level on 67 points with Juventus, but are ahead of the Bianconeri in third place thanks to goal differential.
Considering the first half of the managerial change has happened a couple of weeks before many expected things to go down, you have to believe that Giuntoli and co. won’t try and wait long to get Motta signed, sealed and delivered so that they can start planning for the future together. With the managerial position open, the last thing Juve needs to do is let something like this linger.