Arturo Vidal Transfer Rumours: Latest Speculation Surrounding Juventus Star

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 4

As the dust settles on the longest and most fruitless transfer saga of the summer, Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed what many already knew.

According to the Juventus boss, Arturo Vidal was never available for long-time pursuers Manchester United to buy, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio:

Vidal? He’s never been for sale, the management told me from the beginning that he would stay. We kept a good roster, with many excellent purchases.

Updates from Monday, Sept. 1

Arturo Vidal, as expected, appears set to remain at Juventus by the end of transfer deadline day.

Tuttosport attempted to revive the rumour of a move to Manchester United one last time on Monday, claiming Louis van Gaal watched the midfielder over the weekend, per 101 Great Goals.

However, John Edwards of the Mail Online reports:

Manchester United look to have missed the boat for top midfield target Arturo Vidal, amid claims in Italy that they failed with a near-£30million bid for the Juventus powerhouse.

Sources close to the Juventus board have told Sportsmail that the offer was made on Friday and that the answer from the Turin club effectively ended United's hopes of installing Vidal as the midfield general they so desperately need.

Updates from Friday, Aug. 29

Arturo Vidal has finally clarified his future, if quotes provided by Anthony Chapman of the Daily Express on Friday are to be believed.

Vidal has been linked all summer with a move from Juventus to Manchester United, but it appears that deal won't be happening.

Chapman quotes Vidal saying: "At this point I do not go away, I stay at Juventus."

A similar line was also reported by beIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri:

Juventus clearly don't expect Vidal to be going anywhere before Sunday after boss Massimiliano Allegri confirmed he will start Saturday's Serie A clash with Chievo. Allegri also reiterated that Vidal will stay, per David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com:

Updates from Thursday, Aug. 28

La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian newspaper that claimed on Wednesday that Manchester United had reached an agreement for Arturo Vidal, has now reported a negative twist in the transfer saga.

According to Gazzetta, Juventus have rejected United's first official offer, as summarised here by 101 Great Goals:

Man United are indeed interested in the Vidal, and now Gazzetta are revealing that the Red Devils actually submitted a €43 million bid for the highly-prized South American.

Juventus refused the United offer: and yet rumours still persist that the deal could happen.

In short, Vidal’s and his agent’s behaviour over the past few days are leading many to believe that a move to Old Trafford is not completely over.

Updates from Wednesday, Aug. 27

The Arturo Vidal transfer saga is currently under a cloud of mystery, amid multiple reports that Manchester United plan to follow their capture of Angel Di Maria by adding the Juventus powerhouse.

Reports in Italy could not be more contrasting. La Gazzetta dello Sport claims on Wednesday that an agreement has been struck between United and Juventus, as summarised by 101 Great Goals:

According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, the word on the street is that Man United have reached an agreement with Vidal, after the player’s agent was in Manchester on Tuesday.

[...] Gazzetta end off by saying everything will be clear in the next 24-48 hours, with Juventus eyeing up Fredy Guarin as a possible replacement should United finally get their man.

However, Tuttosport claims the deal is all but dead, insisting Juventus have told United to give up on their pursuit. However, 101 Great Goals does note one caveat in Tuttosport's report:

Were Manchester United to offer the Bianconeri a fee in the region of 50 million euros, Tuttosport suggest that Juve may be forced to accept such a bid. So far, however, Man United’s approach has involved a deal in which Javier Hernandez could move to Turin as part of the package.

 

Updates from Tuesday, Aug. 26

Manchester United's hunt of Arturo Vidal will finally move into overdrive following their imminent capture of Angel Di Maria, reports Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC.

Delaney claims Vidal wants to move, and Juventus will become open to the sale as they close in on Radamel Falcao:

For his part, Vidal is also hugely interested in moving to Old Trafford, and discussions between representatives have already covered the idea of an incentivised contract because of his knee situation.

[...]

Juventus have privately maintained that any sale must come in time for them to properly reinvest, and even set an initial deadline of last Friday. United will now test that, and it has been mooted in Italy that the money from the sale of Vidal could then be used to challenge Real Madrid for the signing of Radamel Falcao.

Ian Herbert of the Independent also reports United's interest:

Updates from Friday, Aug. 22

Manchester United have made Juventus a final offer for Arturo Vidal, according to Chilean broadsheet El Mercurio.

The latest report, summarised by 101 Great Goals, claims Javier Hernandez will be thrown into a deal that would also see the Red Devils stump up £32 million:

El Mercurio claim Louis van Gaal has offered the Turin giants $53 million plus Javier Hernandez as his best, final offer.

Juventus are publicly saying no deal is going to happen, but the Chilean paper open up a chink of light suggesting that if Vidal’s knee is indeed a big problem, the Bianconeri could be inclined to get rid of the Chilean at his top price.

Updates from Thursday, Aug. 21

Arturo Vidal has never received an offer from Manchester United and will not be leaving Juventus, according to CEO Beppe Marotta.

Enrico Passarella of gianlucadimarzio.com reports:

There have been the usual rumours about him, but he has never been put on the transfer market and there has never been a negotiation. These are the usual commonplaces created by the media that have no real confirmations.

Updates from Monday, Aug. 18

Juventus are sounding increasingly confident in their attempts to keep Arturo Vidal, as rumours of a move to Manchester United begin to fade.

Massimiliano Allegri said of the midfielder ahead of his return to playing action, reported by Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell):

He's desperate to play, but he still needs a bit more training,. He's like a lion in a cage. He'll play in Villar Perosa or in the Tim.

Arturo's spirits are very high. It's only normal that there is speculation about him -- big clubs are always looking for big players, but Vidal is already at a big club.

Updates from Thursday, Aug. 14

Opinion has swung back Manchester United's way regarding the transfer of Arturo Vidal from Juventus, with the Daily Star's Rhys Turrell reporting that certain bookies have stopped taking bets on the Chilean becoming a United player.

The Daily Mail's Simon Jones has speculated wildly on quotes provided by Javier Hernandez's agent, leading to the headline: "Javier Hernandez swap deal to bring Arturo Vidal to Manchester United will be revealed 'soon', says Chicharito's agent."

Hernandez's agent, Eduardo Hernandez, actually stated the following regarding speculation of the swap deal:

For now I cannot comment on the situation.

I have no news at the moment on an exchange, I haven't spoken to anyone in England, but there will be news soon.

If United fans are looking for any sign that the Vidal deal is happening, they might be heartened by yet another picture of him signing a Red Devils shirt while on pre-season tour with Juve. Adam McKola recently tweeted:

Updates from Wednesday, Aug. 13

Arturo Vidal's proposed switch to Manchester United is looking increasingly unlikely as Juventus' Friday deadline approaches, according to Turin-based news source Tuttosport.

101 Great Goals summarises the latest report to come out of Italy:

Tuttosport confirm that Manchester United did approach Juventus at the start of the summer and may well return but there has been no bid in recent days.

The Italian sports paper goes on to say that Juventus are giving United the option to make their move before August 15th (this coming Friday), a kind of unofficial date to complete the transfer by.

Updates from Monday, Aug. 11

Arturo Vidal's agent, Fernando Felicevich, will reportedly meet with Louis van Gaal on Monday to sort out a potential move to Manchester United.

Rai Sport, via 101 Great Goals, provides the latest:

Felicevich will meet with LVG in order to work out the appropriate strategy to convince Juventus to part with Vidal.

Rai also claim van Gaal will offer Marouane Fellaini and Javier Hernandez in a swap deal plus cash for Vidal.

Updates from Friday, Aug. 8

Momentum is gathering behind Arturo Vidal's on-off move to Manchester United, after it was reported Louis van Gaal has requested a medical prior to agreeing a fee.

The Daily Star's Jeremy Cross reports:

Boss Louis Van Gaal has instructed United chiefs to secure Vidal's services - provided he can pass a stringent medical.

[...] Starsport understands opening negotiations have begun towards a deal that would see Vidal become the most expensive signing in United's history.

Jack Wilson, also of the Star, points out that certain bookies are convinced Vidal's move is a sure thing:

Unibet, 32Red and 888sport have ALL stopped punters backing Vidal to sign on at Old Trafford.

The Chile midfielder, 27, was 7/2 to make the switch with all three firms yesterday morning. However, those odds were cut into 6/4 until they pulled the plug on the market.

Updates from Thursday, Aug. 7

Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal is said to have agreed personal terms with Manchester United, according to Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Jack Wilson of the Daily Star provides the latest rumour to emerge from Italy:

Reports claim Vidal has given the green light to a five-year contract worth £182,000-a-week at Old Trafford.

Italian champions Juventus are now demanding a final decision from Vidal on whether he plans to leave. United will have to smash their transfer record to get the Chile midfielder.

Updates from Wednesday, Aug. 6

Louis van Gaal is the chief reason behind the ongoing transfer saga involving Arturo Vidal and Manchester United.

That is the claim of Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli, who claims Van Gaal is uncertain over the knee injury that restricted Vidal's World Cup performances. El Mercurio provides Sampaoli's quotes, per the Daily Mail's Matt Morlidge:

I know that the main problem in Vidal’s $80m (£47m) transfer from Juventus to Manchester United is Louis van Gaal’s doubt over the improvement of Arturo's knee.

Updates from Tuesday, Aug. 5

Arturo Vidal sparked fresh talk over his future on Tuesday, posting an ambiguous Instagram message that stated "I'm happy to stay here."

He finished the message with #jakarta, leaving Manchester United and Juventus fans to question whether he is happy with the Italian champions, or merely enjoying their preseason trip to Indonesia:

Updates from Monday, Aug. 4

Two Manchester United players—not a giant transfer fee—might finally persuade Juventus to part with Arturo Vidal, according to Corriere Dello Sport on Monday.

TalkSPORT provides the latest coming out of Italy on the saga of the summer:

The feeling in Turin is that he (Vidal) will leave sooner or later. The salary on offer from Man United may be hard to resist, but the Italian champions could ask for Nani and Javier Hernandez after losing out on Juan Iturbe to Roma.

However, Vidal's teammate Giorgio Chiellini is confident the Chilean will stay with the Serie A champions.

Chiellini was quoted by the Daily Star's Chisanga Malata saying: "I am convinced Arturo Vidal will stay with us."

Updates from Friday, Aug. 1

Nick Lustig of the Daily Star has the latest on Vidal:

Chilean newspaper El Mercurio claimed earlier this week that Vidal has already verbally agreed to join United, who will smash their transfer record by stumping up £47m to bring him to the club.

It is also understood United have tabled a four-year £120,000-a-week deal, which will double the 27-year-old's current salary.

Vidal's representative, Fernando Felicevich, held crunch talks with Juventus on Monday and demanded they match United's lucrative offer or let the Chile World Cup star leave.

The Serie A champions are unwilling to break the bank to keep the midfielder in Turin and Felicevich, according to reports, has now flown into Manchester to put the finishing touches on a switch to United.

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport report that Vidal has already passed a medical ahead of the mega-money switch to Manchester.

Contrary to the noises coming out of Juventus, well-known Italian agent Andrea D’Amico has claimed Arturo Vidal will leave the Serie A champions this summer amid talk of a move to Manchester United.

Quoted by Gianluca Di Marzio via David Amoyal, D'Amico commented:

Vidal and Pogba? One of the two will leave.

I’ll go a step further I’m convinced Vidal will certainly leave.

Updates from Thursday, July 31

Arturo Vidal is not available for transfer. That is the latest message coming out of Juventus.

Boss Massimiliano Allegri told Sky Sport Italia, per ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell: "Vidal is not on the market. I've spoken with him and he's staying at Juve."

Updates from Wednesday, July 30

El Mercurio, the Chilean paper seemingly fuelling the Arturo Vidal-to-Manchester United rumours, claims the player's agent will tell Juventus on Wednesday of his client's desire to move.

101 Great Goals provides El Mercurio's latest spread:

Updates from Tuesday, July 29

Arturo Vidal may have finally ended his own summer transfer saga, posting a tweet on Tuesday that appears to suggest he will remain a Juventus player.

The brief comment under the photo translates as "We are ready":

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri added to the belief that Vidal's future is finally settled amid mass speculation linking him to Manchester United. He told reporters: "Vidal will stay here and he's very happy about this. I spoke with him about his fitness, we're happy he will stay with us."

A major claim had been made on Tuesday morning by Chile's El Mercurio, which said a verbal agreement had been struck between Manchester United and Vidal.

101 Great Goals summarised the report:

According to the front page of the paper, Vidal is ready to leave Juventus to join Old Trafford, while the Scudetto champions are set to receive a record breaking club transfer fee of $80 million for the Chilean star.

Inside the paper the Vidal story is continued with the fresh headline “Vidal prepares to jump from Turin to Old Trafford”, whilst adding that the Red Devils are willing to pay Vidal a massive $18m a year in salary.

Juventus managing director Giuseppe Marotta, like Allegri, insists Vidal will remain in Italy this season.

He told Sky Italia, per Simone Bargellini & Nadia Carminati of Sky Sports:

We recently renewed his contract because we knew that we could count on an important element. He has not taken any different position to what he thought before.

Transfer gossip is normal on one of the best players in circulation. We have never activated a plan to sell the player.

In football you can never say, but if the player wants to stay we will be happy to keep him.

Updates from Monday, July 28

Italy's national press appear to believe Arturo Vidal may yet join Manchester United this summer, with widespread reports emerging of a huge offer from the Premier League side.

Football SamuelJayC summarises a story that appears in both Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport:

The only factor that differs between the two publications is the size of the fee, with Gazzetta reporting €60 million, while Tuttosport suggests a rather more modest €45 million, per 101 Great Goals.

Updates from Friday, July 25

Juventus director Beppe Marotta has made clear his opinion that Arturo Vidal will be going nowhere this summer, despite constant links to Manchester United and Liverpool.

Vidal recently fuelled the fire by saying he "does not know" if he will stay at Juventus (see below), but Marotta is convinced both player and club are on the same page, telling reporters at a press conference:

There is no reason for him to leave. Yesterday he gave an interview in a rushed and embarrassed manner, as he was getting his luggage and so was misinterpreted.

I can assure and confirm Vidal is happy to be with us and there’s no reason for alarm. ...

It is a very remote chance (he will leave), considering what the lad is like, and so I’m not even considering the possibility. ...

He is naturally linked to big clubs, but I’ll point out Juventus are a big club too and we intend to hold on tight. I don’t get the sensation he wants to leave us.

Updates from Thursday, July 24

Arturo Vidal spoke about his status on Thursday to Sky Sport Italia (via Goal.com):

Arturo Vidal says he does not know if he will stay at Juventus but has ruled out a move to Manchester United. ...

"I don't know if I will stay at Juventus, I'm happy here in Turin," he told Sky Italy.

"I will talk with Allegri on Monday. I'm not going to Manchester."

Original Text

Juventus star midfielder Arturo Vidal continues to be linked with a summer transfer move away from the club amid reports that Liverpool have joined Manchester United in the race for his signature.

At least one current teammate believes the Bianconeri cannot let the powerful midfielder walk, however, as Carlos Tevez told reporters at a press conference in Turin, Italy.

The former Manchester City striker spoke on the arrival of Patrice Evra and the departure of manager Antonio Conte while also touching on the future of El Rey Arturo, as per ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell:

Vidal's phenomenal and a real champion. I hope he stays here because we can't afford to let our champions leave. ...

I'm delighted with Evra's arrival -- he's a great friend of mine. Let's now wait and see when we have our full squad what objectives we can set ourselves this season in Serie A and the Champions League. ...

We just need to prove that we are a winning team. Conte had a big influence on our victories, but the scudettos are not only his merit. This is why we've now got to get even stronger. ...

It's much more difficult winning a fourth straight scudetto than it is having to cope without Conte. His decision didn't disappoint me.

Fans of the Bianconeri are eagerly waiting to hear from Vidal, who has yet to officially announce he wants to leave the club. United have frequently been cited as the favourites to pry the Chile international from Juventus, but according to the Chilean press (h/t Metro), Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers are ready to make an offer of their own.

A transfer fee of £42.5 million is being cited, which seems to be fair value for one of the world's best box-to-box midfielders. Vidal has been one of Juventus' most consistent offensive performers in the past three years, and via WhoScored.com, his defensive prowess is unmatched in Serie A:

Vidal would be a tremendous boost for both the Reds and the Red Devils; the latter in particular are still in need of an enforcer in the centre of the pitch.

But with every passing day, the chances of a transfer actually happening decrease. Massimiliano Allegri will have to work hard to win over the Italian fans following the departure of Conte, and not selling fan favourite Vidal would be a good place to start.

Most top teams in Europe have already conducted the bulk of their transfer business, and with preparations for the upcoming campaign in full swing, clubs will become hesitant to move key contributors.

So much has been written on Vidal in the past weeks, but as of right now, no club seems to be any closer to actually signing the Chilean. Per Sport Witness, even the Italian media have grown tired of the constant transfer speculation:

Vidal could still leave the Italian giants, particularly given Serie A's financial instability. While Juventus aren't short on cash, they don't possess the type of financial firepower to turn down a truly massive offer.

But given Vidal's importance to the club, both as a scorer and a bodyguard for the mercurial Andrea Pirlo, any suitor will likely have to set a new club transfer record in an attempt to sign him. As long as the 27-year-old doesn't come forward and demand a transfer move, Juventus will do everything possible to keep him in Turin.