Angelo Ogbonna, who is seen as a player who can exceed Chiellini at Juventus, currently plys his trade at their Juve cross-city rivals, Torino. The player has been constantly linked with both AC Milan and Juventus, but it seems that their rivals have secured his signature. With over 2 years of being linked to the clubs above, the player will now be using the black and white shirt next season. The left foot Italian centre-back, who was bought for a mere €3000 by Torino earlier in his youth, will complete his ‘dream’ move to Juventus, who are looking for a player to replace Barzagli, who currently is 32 years old. But, the question remains, what makes Ogbonna so special?
Once his parents moved with Angelo to Italy from Nigeria in 1983, searching for a better life, they saw young Angelo quickly developing. He possessed a tall stature, a fantastic amount of strength and a wicked left foot which was quickly recognized by a Torino staff member, Antonio Comi. After spending a few years at ‘La Granata’s’ youth academy, Crotone and Torino agreed to loan the player, in which the player’s determination to improve his game, improved with a huge injection of first team football. With the impressive performances at Crotone, the player returned to Torino to play second string to Natali and Di Loreto. However, after his club’s relegation to Serie B, he earned his first-team place. Justifying his place at Torino ever since, the player even got his first Italy cap, while his team play still played at Italy’s second division, the Serie B. With Torino’s recent promotion to the Serie A, Ogbonna was constantly linked with top Premier League clubs and Serie A top teams. However, Ogbonna did something that nobody thought he would do. He signed an extension in February of last year until 2016 and vowed to stay ‘at least’ until the summer of 2013. Fast forwarding to the summer transfer window of 2013, reports in Italy have reported that Juventus will announce the signing today, or on Tuesday.
With a player of Ogbonna’s quality leaving Torino, who was their best player, how will they re-invest the transfer money? Their are various reports that AC Milan youngster, Saponara, who is ‘eager’ to leave the Milan side after a pair of appearances. Whether the player will join permanently, on loan or on an co-ownership deal, remains unknown. Another target for Torino is Marco Capuano, who raised some eyebrows along with Pescara team-mate Mattia Perin during the last season of the Serie A. With the recent relegation of the ‘Delfini’ and key players like Perin and Weiss already have left the club and a defender like Capuano on the rise, it seems that Torino will purchase the player, on a request from the player. But Torino manager, Giampero Ventura has confirmed that they will purchase players of ‘the same quality of Ogbonna’. To add to that, the club’s chairman has said that a ‘suitable’ replacement will be found and that the money will be re-invested into the staff, to find more players like Ogbonna. On the other hand, Juventus will use Ogbonna to the maximum, as they will continue to participate in at least two major competitions and with the constant injuries of Chiellini, Ogbonna will be an excellent replacement or heir to Italy’s best defender.
With Ogbonna leaving for Torino’s city and worst rivals, Juventus, many fans will be angered, as Ogbonna has used the captain’s armband the previous season in Torino’s mid-table finish. Since Ogbonna is seen as one of Italy’s major defensive talents, it seems that he can improve and excel at Juventus, who seem to continue and keep a legacy in Italy. But, the question remains, will Ogbonna be a Juventus flop, or become a great in the black and white shirt?
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