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Contract extension season has officially arrived in Turin, everybody. You\u2019ve probably noticed it \u2014 and not just because Juve got their biggest building block, budding star Kenan Yildiz, locked into a new long-term deal with a nice raise, too. Or that Carlo Pinsoglio, Juve\u2019s beloved third goalkeeper, signed on for another season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
As news came out that Juventus are talking about a possible new deal with polarizing striker Dusan Vlahovic, it appears things are at a more advanced stage with the man who wears the captain\u2019s armband most days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
According to reports from IlBianconero\u2019s Romeo Agresti <\/a>and Giovanni Albanese of La Gazzetta dello Sport<\/a>, Juventus and midfielder Manuel Locatelli are \u201cadvancing\u201d on contract talks that would see the Bianconeri captain extend his deal in Turin until 2030. That is a common number, with both Yildiz and fellow midfielder Weston McKennie having also extended their contracts until the summer of 2030.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Locatelli\u2019s current deal runs through the 2027-28 season and he reportedly earns a net salary of \u20ac2.5 million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Locatelli has been one of Juventus best players since Luciano Spalletti \u2014 who himself is also going to be in discussions when it comes to a new contract in relatively short order \u2014 took over as manager for Igor Tudor in the final days of October. He\u2019s been one of Juventus\u2019 consistent performers and was a driving force in the near comeback in the second leg against Galatasaray.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 28-year-old Locatelli moved to Juventus in the summer of 2021 after what felt like three or four months full of meetings between the then-Bianconeri front office and Sassuolo. He\u2019s seen plenty of change around him over the course of the last 4 1\/2 seasons in bianconero between multiple managerial hirings and firings as well as much of the roster that was around when he first arrived now playing elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But it\u2019s the performances he\u2019s put in through all the constant change that has helped him be a player that multiple managers have counted on to try and lead this team through some of its most challenging times in recent years. It hasn\u2019t all been great, but he certainly does look like a player who has raised his game under a manager in Spalletti he asks a lot from him in the offensive and defensive phases of the game in midfield. For the most part, Locatelli has delivered on that, earning the praises of the Tuscan tactician on plenty of occasions since his arrival in the fall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n