Over the last 12 hours, a rumor sparked by agent Fabio Parisi has indicated to many that Juventus are on the verge of signing Robin van Persie, already agreeing to a deal with Van Persie long ago and now probably coming to terms with his club, Arsenal. Is it a sure thing? There’s nothing certain until you see Van Persie in Torino.
Parisi suspects that Juventus have had a signed contract with Van Persie for some time, locked away in a notary’s desk. There’s an 8 to 10 chance that he’ll be playing for Juventus next season, and he’ll be the perfect addition to a team that set on continuing their winning ways.
Arsenal have been rejecting bids up until this point because they haven’t been good enough or close enough to the £20 million and change they ask for the Premier League’s top scorer in 2011-2012. Reports came out this week of Juventus assuring Van Persie they will match any offer for him and giving him a deal worth £50 million for 5 years. They’ll sign him at any cost.
But the match-fixing problems in Italian football, putten aside in sake of the Euro, with Italy reaching the final, have risen their ugly heads once again with Juventus’ head coach, Antonio Conte, in a very problematic situation. Conte is directly connected to the match fixing, but is accused of failing to report alleged match-fixing in two games during 2010-11 when he was coaching Siena.
He already offered to strike a plea-bargain deal with the Italian Football Federation that would have seen him suspended for three months, but the IFF rejected it, and Conte will now look for a new deal, with what will probably a long ban. For that reason, Van Persie might feel a bit nervous about reaching a club that will be without their manager for who knows how long. If Parisi is correct, and Van Persie already has a contract signed, similar to the situation with Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo a few years ago, he might not have a choice.