Giovanni Carnevali has broken his public silence on Juventus’s pursuit of Randal Kolo Muani.
He confirmed in an interview with Sky Italia that negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain remain active but that a meaningful gap between the two clubs’ valuations persists
The Bianconeri are not prepared to treat the Frenchman as their sole avenue in attack.
The statement, made on Tuesday, is notable precisely because Carnevali has chosen to speak openly on a live negotiation – a signal, in itself, of where the talks currently stand and how Juventus intend to manage expectations ahead of pre-season.
Carnevali’s Position on the Kolo Muani Negotiation
Carnevali confirmed the essential shape of the impasse without quantifying either figure directly, stating: “For Kolo Muani, the demands have not been lowered and we have not increased the proposal, but we are working hard on it.”
The language is deliberate – ‘working hard’ acknowledges continued engagement while ‘demands have not been lowered’ and ‘we have not increased the proposal’ together make clear that neither party has moved from their established position.
He then added the more strategically significant line: “I wouldn’t just focus on him. If there is a big difference, we have to make the right assessments. We’re trying to do the best thing.”
That framing – an acknowledgement of the gap followed immediately by a pivot toward alternatives – reads as a negotiating posture as much as a factual assertion.
is signalling to PSG that Juventus have options and are not under pressure to capitulate on price, while simultaneously managing supporter expectations that this deal may not close on the terms originally pursued.
The PSG Negotiation: Where Things Stand
The structural context for this impasse has been established over several weeks of reporting in Italy.
Juventus are understood to have proposed a loan arrangement with a potential obligation to buy, structured at a total cost of €33m.
PSG have rejected that figure, with the Parisian club holding firm at a valuation closer to €40m for a player they acquired from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023 for a reported fee of approximately €90m.
That original outlay – and the amortisation obligations attached to it – makes PSG’s reluctance to accept a significant discount entirely logical from a financial fair play standpoint, regardless of Kolo Muani’s mixed time in Paris prior to his Juventus loan.
Kolo Muani’s first stint at Juventus, which ran from January to June 2025, produced eight goals from 16 Serie A appearances.
That output is sufficient to establish him as a credible candidate to replace Dusan Vlahovic, whose contract expired on June 30 without the club electing to extend it.
The absence of a purchase option attached to that initial loan now means Juventus must negotiate a fresh structure from scratch, with PSG in a position of considerably greater leverage than they held eighteen months ago.
Juventus’s Alternatives & the Broader Forward Search
Carnevali addressed the wider forward market directly, confirming that Alexander Sorloth is among the profiles under consideration. However, he was careful to qualify that the Norwegian is not the exclusive alternative, saying: “The doors aren’t only open for Sorloth, but also for other players.”
That framing deliberately keeps the field open, preventing any single name from acquiring the narrative weight of a confirmed fallback target.
Carnevali also confirmed Juventus’s interest in Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, though he was measured on timeline: “We will have to wait. Martinez interests us, but he’s also an interesting profile for a lot of other teams. There will be lots of opportunities.”
On the question of Vlahovic specifically, Carnevali was unambiguous – confirming that the club did not meet with the Serbian striker to discuss a potential extension, effectively closing that chapter without ceremony.
The broader picture of Juventus’s transfer activity this summer reflects a club recalibrating its attacking resources across multiple positions simultaneously, rather than pursuing one marquee signing in isolation.
What Carnevali’s Statement Reveals About Juventus’s Transfer Strategy
The decision by Carnevali to speak publicly on a negotiation that has not yet concluded is not incidental.
CEOs of major Italian clubs rarely comment on live transfer talks unless the statement itself serves a purpose.
Applying measured pressure on PSG by demonstrating that Juventus are not captive to this deal, while simultaneously reassuring the fanbase that activity is ongoing despite the absence of a breakthrough.
The ‘we are working hard’ wording keeps the door open; the ‘I wouldn’t just focus on him’ framing keeps the leverage distributed.
Whether PSG respond to that posture by softening their €40m position – or whether Juventus ultimately redirect resources toward Sorloth or another profile from their contingency list – will depend on how much runway remains before Spalletti’s pre-season programme demands a settled forward line.
The decisive variable is not the fee itself but the deadline by which Juventus need structural certainty in attack, and that window is narrowing.
