Juventus have reached an agreement to sign coveted Sampdoria striker Patrik Schick for £26.5million, according to a reliable journalist.
Sky Sports Italy correspondent Gianluca Di Marzio has claimed on his personal website that the Italian champions have secured their first signing of the window despite a late attempt from Paris Saint-Germain to hijack the deal.
Di Marzio reports that the French giants offered £30.9million to Sampdoria for their prize asset but the Serie A outfit have been forced to accept a lower bid from Juventus because Schick had “already given his word” that he would move to Turin.
It is said that Juventus will pay more than the £21.5million release clause in the Czech striker’s contract because he will spend the first season on loan.
Di Marzio states that the Champions League runners-up have agreed to pay another £5million on top of that as the deal will stipulate a mandatory option for them to buy Schick after two years for £26.5million in the summer of 2019.
The full cost of the fee will be paid over four years.
The deal will come as a blow to Tottenham after Italian newspaper Il Secolo XIX, as quoted by FC Inter 1908, which provides content for sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, claimed recently that they had agreed the terms of a contract offer with Schick and his agent Pavel Paska.
Spurs were thought to be in pole position last month to win the race for an in-demand player who has also attracted reported interest from Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid.
Schick, who is an authentic centre-forward, made a huge impact in Serie A in the recently completed season.
The three-times Czech international has caught the eye of Europe’s elite clubs after bagging 13 goals and providing three assists in 35 league and cup appearances for Sampdoria in 2016-17.
He has an outstanding goals-per-minutes ratio for the campaign, with his strikes coming every 113 minutes, an excellent return for such a demanding league.