It had been clear since Friday that Kerim Alajbegovic would be moving to Juventus Turin. Now the transfer is official.
The tug-of-war over Kerim Alajbegovic is over. For a long time, Chelsea FC was in the lead, but then the Italian clubs Atalanta Bergamo and Juventus Turin entered the bidding war. In the end, the Old Lady had the most compelling arguments and has now secured the 18-year-old’s services. The prolific forward also chose Juve because he is slated to be a starter there—which wouldn’t have been the case with the Blues. That’s likely why the London club’s last-minute improved offer fell flat.
On Saturday, the forward arrived accompanied by his compatriot Miralem Pjanic—who himself played for Juve from 2016 to 2020 (160 appearances, 19 goals) and advised the Italian record champions on the transfer—to undergo the mandatory medical exam and finalize the last details. Now that this is complete, nothing stands in the way of his future in Turin. He signed a long-term contract with Juve running through June 30, 2031.
Breakthrough in Salzburg and World Cup Experience
As a youth, the Cologne native initially played for Effzeh, but then moved to the Werkself in 2021, where he never saw any playing time. Nevertheless, he is now bringing in a tidy sum for Bayer 04. Leverkusen recently reacquired him for eight million euros via a buyback clause following a strong season at RB Salzburg (19 Bundesliga games, seven goals) and will now pocket a fixed transfer fee of 30 million euros, as the Turin club announced. This figure could rise to 35 million euros with bonus payments.
His performances in Austria also caught the attention of Bosnia’s national team coach Sergej Barbarez; the former Leverkusen player (86 games, 17 goals from 2006 to 2008) now relies heavily on Alajbegovic and even included him on the World Cup roster. The 18-year-old played in all four of the Dragons’ World Cup matches, starting from the second matchday onward, and scored a stunning goal in the 3-1 victory over Qatar. In total, the technically gifted whirlwind has already earned 14 international caps (two goals).
