Juve, Hjulmand says yes. But Comolli faces two obstacles: the details.

The lure of Italy remains strong, and Morten Hjulmand, after two years in Salento, would gladly return to Serie A by joining Juventus. Sporting's all-around midfielder, one of the many transfer ideas of that sly fox Pantaleo Corvino, has already expressed his willingness in principle to move to Turin. The prospect of returning to our league through the front door, with a higher salary than his current one and a contract until 2030, is too tempting. It's all simple, a bit like finding the piece to start building a puzzle. The problem for Hjulmand and Juventus, at least for now, is the other pieces of the deal. Everything has a price, and the Portuguese champions, after the rich sale of striker Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal, have no intention of making any concessions for the Dane, their captain and leader. Sporting doesn't want to negotiate with Hjulmand at this stage and is "defending" themselves by flaunting his €60 million release clause. Too much money for (almost) everyone, not just Juventus. The former Lecce player, however, insists on a change of scenery, and his entourage remains convinced they can reach a more reasonable compromise with Sporting: around forty million, perhaps mitigated by a portion of bonuses tied to Hjulmand's and Juventus' performances.

More or less the amount of money Continassa hopes to generate through creative means from Douglas Luiz's return to the Premier League. The former Aston Villa player, fined by Juventus officials for not showing up for a training camp and not even on the bench yesterday for the test against Reggiana (like Arthur and Weah), is hoping to join Nottingham Forest, but hasn't yet closed the door on Everton and West Ham. Meanwhile, Douglas has flown with captain Locatelli and teammates to Herzogenaurach, which will host the Bianconeri's German training camp until August 9th. And while the Brazilian is in Germany, it will be difficult for Juventus to secure Hjulmand or another midfielder. Comolli, after the Alberto Costa deal with Sporting collapsed—the former Juventus player ultimately joined rivals Porto—tried to sway the Biancoverdi by offering either Douglas Luiz or Arthur in exchange for the 26-year-old Dane. The deal, however, didn't materialize.

The impression is that at least more weighty arguments will be needed to tempt the Portuguese, who, besides being skilled traders, currently have no need to sell after the €70 million (plus bonuses) they earned from Arsenal for Gyokeres. Continassa are perfectly aware of this, but are banking on the player's desire and the Dane's entourage's belief that they can secure a discount in the coming weeks. Comolli, on the one hand, is pushing for Hjulmand, one of Igor Tudor's favorites, but on the other, he continues to work on other fronts as well. Discussions and discussions continue.

The Bianconeri are interested in Brighton's Matt O'Riley, a Danish player like Hjulmand who was targeted by Atalanta a year ago to replace Teun Koopmeiners. Yves Bissouma, a Malian reportedly on the verge of leaving Tottenham, remains at the top of the list; Fenerbahce and West Ham are also in the running. Still in the background are the impossible dream Sandro Tonali (Newcastle) and former Fiorentina player Sofyan Amrabat, currently at José Mourinho's Fenerbahce.