Juventus won the contest to recruit Carlos Alcaraz in a potential £43 million move, with the Southampton loanee’s agent claiming that the Serie A giants beat out Premier League rivals Everton and Nottingham Forest in January.
While Nuno Espirito Santo’s side rushed at the possibility to sign Gio Reyna when it became clear that Borussia Dortmund were open to offers, it appears that the USA international was not the club’s first option.
Before bringing Reyna to the City Ground in the last 24 hours of the transfer window, Nottingham Forest inquired about Carlos ‘Charly’ Alcaraz’s availability.
Everton also expressed their interest. Given Everton’s well-publicized financial problems, it appears improbable that the club would have been able to match an offer that eventually led to Alcaraz joining Turin on a loan-to-buy deal worth more than £40 million.
Everton and Nottingham Forest both sought Carlos Alcaraz.
“It was the end of January,” the Argentine’s agent, Sebastian Lopez, told Diario AS. “We had already urged the club (to sell Alcaraz) so that he could play more, and we had alternatives with Nottingham Forest, Lyon, and Marseille.
“We were also chatting to Evertonians.
“On Sunday, before the transfer window closed, I went to London to look at all of these options. And in the middle, Juventus called me. So I traveled from Southampton to Italy, where we established the exit conditions.”
Southampton loanee might earn a large transfer.
Lopez believes Alcaraz, who joined Southampton from Racing Club in January 2023 and impressed despite finishing last in the Premier League, will get a long-term deal at Juve.
The determined technician, like Reyna at Forest, has yet to leave his mark in his new home. He did provide an assist against reigning Scudetto holders Napoli, but Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus have won only one of their six Serie A games since the window closed. Juve has already slid to third place, 17 points behind champions-elect Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest will travel to fellow strugglers Luton Town on Saturday. Everton will be keeping a tight eye on events at Kenilworth Road, as their Merseyside derby against Liverpool has been postponed due to the latter’s participation in the FA Cup quarterfinals.
