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Juventus\u2019 mad scramble to sign one final central defender before the January transfer window closes appears to finally be over.<\/p>\n
For real this time.<\/p>\n
According to reports from Romeo Agresti<\/a>, Fabrizio Romano<\/a> and others on Saturday, Juventus have closed a deal for Newcastle United center back Lloyd Kelly on an initial loan deal for the rest of the season. Unlike previous reported deals for Kevin Danso and others, Juventus will have an obligation to buy Kelly outright over the summer, according to Romano, with a price tag around \u20ac15 million. Newcastle will also reportedly have a sell-on clause as part of the deal.<\/p>\n Well, at least he won\u2019t have to adjust to wearing an Adidas kit with black and white stripes, right?<\/p>\n The mad scramble can finally hit an end point now that Juventus have secured Kelly, who is likely to book his medical at some point this weekend prior to the winter transfer window closing on Monday. Juve have gone through what feels like a complete rolodex of options in the center of defense, and soon Kelly\u2019s name will be added to that of Renato Veiga when it comes to players who have actually signed to add much-needed depth at the abck.<\/p>\n By no means is it a perfect solution, and the fact that Kelly is now moving clubs all of six months after joining Newcastle on a free from Bournemouth \u2014 gee, do they have any talented central defenders with ties to Juve? I\u2019ll go check … \u2014 is a pretty clear sign of how he quickly became outside of their plans.<\/p>\n So just as long as this doesn\u2019t go the route of Danso \u2014 and, in case you\u2019re wondering, that\u2019s added a few more chapters<\/a> ever since talks with Lens fell apart \u2014 then Juventus will actually he adding another center back during a time in which just one of the central defenders that were on the roster at the beginning of the season is actually available to Thiago Motta right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n