Juventus has signed Lazio defender Guglielmo Stendardo on loan until June while Aston Villa's Olof Mellberg will join the club in July, the Serie A side said yesterday.
Third-placed Juventus has a defensive injury crisis and has brought in Italian Stendardo after a move to recruit Sweden's Mellberg in January stalled.
Villa blocked an early deal but his contract runs out in June and the 30-year-old will be a Juventus player for next season having penned a three-year deal, a Juventus statement said.
"I am very happy with this agreement. Italy will be an important experience, at a prestigious club and in one of the most important championships in the world," Mellberg said.
"Now I must finish the season in an Aston Villa shirt but I really can not wait to come to Juventus."
Villa confirmed on its Website (www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk) that the defender had signed a pre-contract agreement and would join the Turin side on July 1.
Stendardo's move, signalled on the Italian club's Website (www.juventus.com), comes despite the defender being in the middle of a three-match league suspension.
Jorge Andrade and Giorgio Chiellini are injured while Juventus surprisingly loaned young defender Domenico Criscito to Genoa and sold out-of-form center back Jean-Alain Boumsong to Lyon.
Claudio Ranieri's side is also expected to seal Mohamed Sissoko's transfer from Liverpool, having sent the ineffective Sergio Almiron on loan to Monaco.
The Mali midfielder jetted to Italy for a medical on Sunday and was set to sign later yesterday before heading back to the African Nations Cup in Ghana where his side face Ivory Coast tomorrow.
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article