Juventus sports director selected Tognozi, Tudor was eager to continue coaching, Conte wanted to dig Gati

Italian media reported on Monday that after receiving the assurance of Juventus boss John Elkan, Igor Tudor is still working hard to continue as the head coach of the Zebras next season.

Tudor replaced Thiago Mota to coach former club Juventus in March, but only signed a short-term contract until the end of the FIFA Club World Cup from mid-June to mid-July, and there is no guarantee of staying in office next season.

The Zebras have always hoped that Antonio Conte would come back to lead the team, but after leading Naples to the Serie A title this season, the Italian coach decided to stay at the Southern club. Gasperini is also seen as a potential target, but the Atlanta head coach is now about to switch to Rome.

This forced Juventus to consider other alternatives, including Tudor's retention, who was called the "most qualified" candidate for the job by the "Sports Milan".

According to news from multiple media outlets on Monday, Tudor has recently received assurances from John Elkan, CEO of club holding company Exor. Elkan told Tudor not to worry and not to be distracted by the roster of coaches in the media related to Juventus’ work.

Tudore's contract has been automatically extended to 2026 due to qualifying for the Champions League next season, but the Zebras still have the right to terminate his contract with him early this summer at a fee of about 1 million euros.

Sky Sports Italy reported that Juventus, whose management is being reorganized, has made a decision to appoint Matteo Tognozi as their new sports director.

After a disappointing season, John Elkan, the majority shareholder of the Zebras, decided to make adjustments to management. Sports director Gene Toli will pay the final price, and although the club has not announced the decision, his fate is already destined and he and his work team will be fired.

On the other hand, Juventus has announced the appointment of Damien Comoly as the new general manager and promoted George Chiellini as the director of football strategy. But as reported earlier on Monday, Gene Toli is about to leave, with senior management still open, and the club needs a new transfer market expert.

Previously, the Italian media believed that this role had four shortlists: Masala, Diego Lopez Salihamidic and Tognozi. According to Sky Sports in Italy, Juventus finally chose Tognozi, 38, who is familiar with Continenta and is highly praised by the club.

Tognozi served as Juventus scout from 2017 to 2023, during which he signed some of the best talented players, including Sulai, Dean Huisen, and most importantly Ilditz, who is now considered one of the cornerstones of the current Juventus program.

Tognozi left the Turin giants in October 2023 as Granada offered him a more important role. After more than a year as the sports director of the Spanish club, he left in February 2025 and has been unemployed at home since then.

In recent weeks, rumors about the young Italian executive's return to Juventus have become increasingly likely to become a reality.

Premier League club Aston Villa officially announced that it would appoint former Juventus director Francisco Calvo as the club's new business operations president.

With two games left in the 2024-25 season, Calvo resigned from his position as general manager of business and institutional relations in Juventus to transfer to Aston Villa, who will officially start working from July.

Meanwhile, the Zebra Corps has recently confirmed the appointment of former Toulouse chairman Comoli as the club's new general manager, and Chiellini will also assume some of Calvo's responsibilities in the restructuring of the senior management of the first team.

In a statement on Villa's official website, Calvo said: "I feel very honored to be joining the club at such an exciting time. Everyone in the football world knows the history of Aston Villa and the passionate support for it."

"We have seen over the past few years that we have seen with the ambitious operation of V Sports, starting to match the success on the court and progress off the court. I look forward to working with the Chairman, the Board, Emery and Aston Villa to continue to move this great institution forward."

Calvo has worked at Juventus for two different periods, including Commercial Director and Chief Revenue Officer. He also served in Barcelona and Rome before returning to Juventus in 2022.

"Sports Milan reported that although Napoli coach Antonio Conte rejected Juventus' invitation, he is still keen to cooperate with defender Gati, hoping to bring him to the Serie A championship team.

Conte unexpectedly led Naples to the league championship this season, and it was rumored that he had a bad relationship with chairman De Laurentis and would leave this summer. However, in the end, the Naples boss convinced him to stay and promised to recruit troops for him to increase his strength.

Therefore, Conte refused to stay in Naples by the Zebra Legion. According to Milan Sports, one of Conte's main goals in the transfer market is to strengthen the defense line, and Gatti may be an option. Conte admires the 26-year-old centre-back, and Napoli sports director Manna thinks the same.

Nevertheless, sources noted that the Italian international is not the only defender on Manna’s roster, as Arsenal’s Kiviol and Bologna’s Buickma are also under consideration.

As for Juventus, they are still determined to keep Gati with a new, improved contract, something they have been working on for the past few months. Gatti's current contract is signed until 2028, but it is rumored that Juventus hopes to renew his contract until June 2029 and has the option to extend it for one year.

In addition, Gatti's salary will also be adjusted. He currently earns 1.5 million euros per season, and renewal will increase his salary to more than 2 million. Gatti was acquired by Juventus in January 2022 and then joined Allegri's team that summer.

Juventus midfielder Locatelli sprained his ankle during training and was forced to withdraw from the Italian national team and would not participate in the World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Moldova. The Italian national team will travel to Norway on Friday and then host Moldova next Monday to start the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

This Monday, Locatelli was found with bandages on his right ankle and calf. Now the Blues' physical examination report is out: he sprained his right ankle during Sunday's training and was unable to participate in both games, so the midfielder has returned to the club.

This can allow Locatelli to recover with peace of mind and be able to recover in time and start the journey of the club World Cup with Juventus in mid-June.

Italian national team coach Spaletti also needs to adjust the defense line. Napoli defender Boutiórno left the team due to injury, Archerbi left the national team due to personal grudges, and Fiorentine defender Luca Ranieri joined the team.