Celik to Juventus: how the deal happened, according to Gianluca Di Marzio

“Celik’s situation ended with a surprise move to Juventus because, let’s be honest, it was a surprise. Over the space of 48 hours, the last 48 hours, Juventus really decided to get serious, pushed by Ricky Massara, who knew very well how reliable the player is and how useful he could be for Spalletti in several roles.

“They also wanted to get ahead of competition from other clubs, because there were clubs in Turkey, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, there was Fiorentina, who had approached the player with a very important offer, and then of course there was Roma.

“It is true that Roma fans are now divided. Reading the comments, many are saying: ‘Who cares if he goes to Juventus? He was a player we didn’t like anyway.’ But the truth is that Gasperini had expressed himself in favour of keeping Celik. He had personally asked Celik to wait for Roma for as long as possible and had asked Roma to do everything they could to satisfy him.”

The financial issue

“The financial agreement,” Di Marzio continued, “was always a subject of discussion and those discussions went on for a long time, because again, let’s be honest, Roma changed management practically after the transfer window had already started.

“D’Amico was officially appointed shortly before the end of June with a special dispensation, so he was not even able to operate with proper planning. These renewals were completed in some cases after the contracts had already expired.

“Usually, these contracts are extended, these situations are resolved before 30 June and evidently everything that happened at Roma led to these matters dragging on. That is to say that, in Celik’s case too, the discussions continued without ever reaching a definitive agreement.”

“Celik felt free, together with his agents, to travel to Italy in recent days without being seen, go to Turin, undergo his medical, sign the contract and then inform Gasperini.

“It was the player himself who sent a message to the coach, given the great mutual respect between them, to tell him that his decision was not to wait any longer and to join Juventus, who had offered him a contract in line with his demands.”