Bournemouth have agreed a deal to sign Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio on a season-long loan, with an option to make the move permanent for €14 million next summer.
Di Gregorio’s fall from favor at Juventus has been swift. The 29-year-old arrived at the Allianz Stadium from Monza in 2024 and quickly established himself as first choice, racking up 36 clean sheets in 84 competitive appearances across two seasons. Last season alone he kept 13 clean sheets in 30 Serie A matches.
However, his second campaign in Turin unraveled. A string of underwhelming performances saw manager Luciano Spalletti turn to Mattia Perin between the posts. Di Gregorio never really won the job back. He finished the season with 36 goals conceded in 37 appearances.
With Juventus opting to bring in Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario on loan to be Spalletti’s new No. 1, the writing was on the wall. They began to field offers and received interest from Marseille, Torino, Lazio, Monza, Valencia and Besiktas at various points.
Bournemouth’s interest emerged as manager Marco Rose looked to bolster competition behind current No. 1 Djordje Petrovic. Bournemouth had hoped to run back last season’s setup, with Christos Mandas challenging Petrovic and Fraser Forster as experienced backup. However, they failed to re-sign Mandas from Lazio, ruining that plan.
Di Gregorio’s arrival solves that problem in one move. It gives Bournemouth a proven, Champions League-tested goalkeeper as senior backup to Petrovic. It will also mark a first for Di Gregorio, who has never played club football outside Italy.
It’ll be interesting to see what Di Gregorio is going to be able to do at Bournemouth. If he is able to refind the form that made him one of the best goalkeepers in Italy, then this move could turn out to be a bargain.
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