Kalulu has United and Liverpool ready to do anything, but Juventus and the World Cup are blocking the door
Pierre Kalulu has become the summer's most awkward transfer story. Both Manchester United and Liverpool are reportedly "ready to do anything" to sign the Juventus defender, but the player has just told reporters he is in no hurry to talk to anyone until after the summer World Cup.
Aston Villa have now joined the chase, turning what looked like a two-club race into a three-way standoff with one inconvenient detail: Juventus do not want to sell. The Bianconeri are preparing a new contract for Kalulu through to 2030, with a significant reported salary increase plus bonuses, while United and Liverpool circle with offers in the £34.5 million bracket.
Why Kalulu is in such demand
The 25-year-old Frenchman moved to Juventus on loan from AC Milan in August 2024 and the Italian club triggered a €14 million buy option on his 25th birthday last June. Four seasons at the San Siro produced 112 appearances across Serie A and Europe, and a comfortable enough first year in Turin to make him one of the more sensible centre-back targets on the continent.
What sets him apart for English buyers is the profile. Kalulu is right-footed and most often used as the right-sided centre-back in a back three, but he has filled in at full-back and wing-back when asked, and his ground-duel numbers put him in the top bracket of Serie A defenders. United have spent two summers searching for exactly that kind of defender. Liverpool have been quietly assembling a shortlist as their own back line gets older, and Kalulu sits near the top of it.
What Juventus actually want
Reports from Italy have been blunt. Juventus consider Kalulu "central" to their long-term project and the new deal being drafted in Turin is designed to take any decision out of the player's hands for the next five years. If they sign him before the World Cup, the asking price for any English club would jump well past £40 million; if Kalulu refuses to sign, Juventus retain the leverage of his current contract running through 2029.
The figures floating around the rumour mill have varied. Earlier in the year Juventus were said to be willing to listen at around €30 million. By April the asking price had drifted to €40 million, and most recently outlets in England have settled on a £34.5 million ballpark. None of those numbers come with a quote from Juventus's sporting department, which is part of the problem for the clubs trying to plan a bid.
Kalulu's own position
The player has been the calmest voice in the conversation. After Juventus's 1-0 win at Lecce on Saturday, Kalulu told reporters he was happy at the club and was having a good season, but that contract talks would only happen after the World Cup and his summer break. The line was as polite a stalling tactic as a footballer can offer in May.
That last detail matters. Didier Deschamps is expected to include Kalulu in his France squad this summer, and once a player goes deep into a World Cup his market value almost never moves downward. Anyone wanting him at €30 million is effectively betting on a quiet tournament for Les Bleus, which is not a bet most recruitment departments are paid to make.
Where this lands
The shape of the next two months is reasonably clear. Juventus will try to get a contract signed before the World Cup squads are named. United and Liverpool will try to force a bidding war before Juventus can close the door, and Aston Villa will hope the two giants get distracted by each other long enough to slip in with a clean offer. The player, for now, is letting them all wait.
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