Juventus beat Chelsea to €40m Leverkusen winger

Kerim Alajbegovic has admitted that former Bosnia-Herzegovina hero Miralem Pjanic played a decisive role in his decision to swap Bayer Leverkusen for Juventus in a deal worth €40 million earlier this month. The 18-year-old winger, who was also linked with several top clubs including Chelsea, says he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol by pulling on the famous black-and-white shirt.

Alajbegovic arrived at the Bianconeri after impressing during a loan spell at Salzburg last season, and he was a key part of the Bosnia-Herzegovina side that reached the round of 32 at this summer's World Cup, eventually losing to co-hosts the United States. At the tournament, he scored one goal and led all of his team-mates for dribbles attempted (18) and completed (10), while also registering the joint-most chances created (four, alongside Esmir Bajraktarevic and Ivan Basic).

"When Juventus call, it is truly difficult to say no"

The youngster is now excited to wear the same jersey that Pjanic wore on 178 occasions during a four-year stint in Italy between 2016 and 2020, a period that delivered four Serie A titles and a Champions League final appearance.

"When Juventus call, it is truly difficult to say no," Alajbegovic told Tuttosport. "It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I am truly proud to wear this jersey. It's true, knowing the club had faith in me was really, really important for me.

"Pjanic was also important in my choice, because he was a Juventus player, and he had so much influence with this club. My father helped too. At the end of the day, it is what we all wanted and we're happy."

A fresh start under Spalletti

Juve missed out on Champions League qualification last season after finishing a disappointing sixth in Serie A, with Roma and Como beating them to a top-four finish as AC Milan also fell short. However, the Bianconeri opted to stick with Luciano Spalletti as their head coach for 2026-27, with Frosinone their matchday one opponents on August 23.

Alajbegovic's early impression of Spalletti has been overwhelmingly positive. "I can see in training how good Spalletti is, that he always wants perfection. It's good to work this hard, because you learn something new in every session. You concentrate on the precision of the passing, the movement, the positioning. He is a top-level coach for me, and I can't wait to keep learning from him."