Reports: Juventus, Vitoria Guimaraes agree to deal for Alberto Costa

Yesterday at 06:25 PM

The first January transfer of 2025 looks to be on the cusp of being official.

Help in defense looks like it's on the way for Thiago Motta and Juventus.

Thankfully.

According to reports from the likes of Romeo Agresti on ilbianconero.com and Fabrizio Romano giving it the "Here we go!" status, Juventus and Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes have agreed to a deal for fullback Alberto Costa. The total package is worth up to €15 million, according to Romano, with Juventus paying an initial €12.5 million fee for the 21-year-old right back and another €2.5 million in add-ons. The deal picked up serious steam over the weekend, with Juventus and Vitoria advancing in negotiations early Sunday after word that Costa had rejected other offers from the likes of the Premier League and Serie A came out.

It's still a bit of an unknown when Costa will arrive in Turin to undergo his medicals and sign his contract with Juventus. But, at the very least, Juventus will soon have another defender to add to their ranks during a time in which Motta has been essentially had the bare minimum of players available at the back for the better part of the last four or six weeks.

director Cristiano Giuntoli is expected to make to aide a defense that has been absolutely zapped of any depth with the season-ending injuries to Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal as well as the recent falling out with Danilo.

With the addition of Costa, it means Nicolo Savona — who has been asked to play a whole lot more than anybody expected when he was first promoted from the Next Gen squad — will have a little more depth again at right back. It would, in theory, allow Andrea Cambiaso to go back to being a full-time left back once he's fully fit again, with Weston McKennie also available in a pinch if necessary.

So far this season with Vitoria, Costa has a goal and a pair of assists and has played 1,289 minutes across 18 appearances in all competitions. Four of those appearances have come in the UEFA Conference League group stage, including a start against Fiorentina on Dec. 19. All nine of his last nine appearances have been starts in which he's played the full 90 minutes. (Ironically, with the last five of those starts being draws, so he's already good to go for this current version of Juventus.)