Mellberg To Juve A Done Deal?
Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg will be a Juventus player in time for next season, according to the latest reports in the Italian press.
The Aston Villa stopper is out of contract next summer and, although coach Martin O’Neill is determined to keep him, it would appear that the Italian giants have managed to convince Mellberg that joining them would be the best possible career move for him at this time.
No official agreement can be announced until February, but it is reported that the 30-year-old Swedish defender will has already given his blessings to a deal that will bind him to the Bianconeri for at least two years with an option for a third.
The impending arrival of Mellberg, who joined Villa from Racing Santander in July 2001 for £5m, is not expected to come in the way of Juve’s planned purchase of Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic from Lokomotiv Moscow, seeing that the veteran Swede will be available on a free.
All this spells bad news for Bianconeri bench-warmer Jean-Alain Boumsong, who now looks increasingly certain to be leaving Turin in the summer.
goal.com