Milan - Juventus moved to
strengthen their midfield by signing
Germany international and World
Cup winner Sami Khedira from Real
Madrid on a free transfer, the Italian
champions said.
Khedira, 28, has agreed a four-year
contract with the Champions League
runners-up and will join the Turin
club on July 1, Juve said on their
website (www.juventus.com) on
Tuesday.
"Khedira, who is normally deployed
in front of the defence as a ball-
winning midfielder, is able to cover
a lot of ground while also possessing
excellent passing and shooting
ability and great vision of the game,"
Juve said.
"Bianconeri boss Massimiliano
Allegri is set to add a player of class,
quality and international experience
to his ranks, ready to enrich one of
the strongest midfields in world
football."
After joining Real from VfB Stuttgart
in 2010, Khedira had a reasonably
successful five-year stint with the La
Liga club but fell out of favour after
talks on a contract extension failed.
Last month, he accused Real of
freezing him out by dropping him
from the team even though he was
fit to play.
He barely featured since the turn of
the year, with Real citing a series of
minor injuries as the reason for his
absence, but Khedira said the club
had decided he was no longer
wanted.
"I've always felt that I've had the
coach's backing, but the message
indirectly came through to me that I
was no longer needed, I was frozen
out and wouldn't have a chance to
continue playing," he told Marca
sports daily.
"It hurts that I'm accused of a lack
of professionalism because I've
always put the team ahead of
myself," he added. "I've always gone
with the truth."
Khedira's move to Juve could
facilitate the exit of their France
midfielder Paul Pogba, who is
reportedly a target for clubs
including Real, European champions
Barcelona and several English teams
as well as Paris St Germain.
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