Juventus, Chelsea have 'gentleman's agreement' over Juan Cuadrado — report

When Juan Cuadrado went on loan to Juventus at the close of the summer transfer window, there were unconfirmed reports that Juventus, after paying a paltry loan fee of about €1.5m, would have an option to buy the winger for around €25m the following summer.  That fee sounded like a bit of a far-fetched fantasy, given Cuadrado's struggles for Chelsea, but after his first few appearances for the Italian champions, most notably against Manchester City in the Premier League, that option suddenly looks like a much more appealing proposition.  There's just one catch.

The initial reports suggested this option would be written into the loan contract in an attempt to avoid any of the silly nonsense that has gone on (and still could go on, depending on FIFA's ruling in December) with Mohamed Salah and Fiorentina.  But the latest reports out of Italy now claim this is just a "secret option" or a "gentleman's agreement", neither of which really instill too much confidence as far as the binding nature of any actual agreement goes.

In addition, the fee is now purported to be just €22m, though I suppose the difference of a few million one way or another is hardly anything to be losing too much sleep over.

On the plus side, Cuadrado has impressed so far at Juve, so perhaps we will be able to recoup the vast majority of our failed investment in the 27-year-old after all.  The defending Italian champions are off to a dreadful start in the league, but have a chance to start getting back on track with a win at Genoa later today.  Go and get 'em, Johnny Squared!