Juventus have signed forward Jeff Ekhator from Genoa, the club confirmed on Friday. The transfer represents the first acquisition of the summer transfer window for the Turin side, with a reported fee of around €18 million. Ekhator, born in 2006, joins Juventus after two Serie A seasons with Genoa, where he demonstrated promising potential.
Juventus’s sporting director, Giovanni Carnevali, moved quickly to secure Ekhator’s signature once Genoa indicated a willingness to negotiate. The move aligns with the club’s strategy of building for the future with young, Italian talent. While the transfer wasn’t initially driven by manager Luciano Spalletti, the coach assessed Ekhator’s qualities both in Serie A and during the player’s appearances for the Italian national team, including recent call-ups to the senior squad.
Spalletti consulted with Silvio Baldini, a long-time friend and colleague, to gain further insight into Ekhator’s technical abilities and potential role within the Juventus squad. Baldini reportedly gave a positive assessment of Ekhator’s character, describing him as serious, dedicated, and diligent during his time with the national youth teams. Baldini first called Ekhator up to the Under 21 squad in September 2025, and the forward has since scored a pair of goals at that level.
Despite the significant investment, Juventus are cautious about immediately placing too much pressure on Ekhator. There is a possibility the club could loan him to another Serie A team later in the summer if opportunities within the first team are limited, particularly if they are unable to offload existing forwards David, Openda, or Milik. Spalletti will focus on evaluating Ekhator’s adaptability to different positions in attack and his physical duels, with a view to integrating him into the team ahead of upcoming friendlies against Basel, Standard Liege, and Nice, as well as a pre-season tour featuring matches against Chelsea and Inter. Former Roma manager Daniele De Rossi, who previously worked with Ekhator, praised the player’s potential, stating he “trains like a champion” and will be worth “decades and decades of millions of euros” in the future.
Ekhator is expected to join the Juventus squad for pre-season training on Monday, beginning his journey with the club.
