Fiorentina Tests Juventus' Resolve Over Joao Mario

Fiorentina have moved to test Juventus’ resolve over Joao Mario, lodging a formal proposal that underlines how sharply the full-back’s stock has fallen in Turin.

The Viola have tabled an offer built around a season-long loan with an option to buy, set in the €8m–€9m range, according to Gianluca Di Marzio. The structure is clear: try before you commit, but with a price already on the table if the fit is right.

Inside Juventus, the message is just as clear. Joao Mario is not expected to feature in Luciano Spalletti’s plans for the 2026-27 campaign. For a player signed only last summer from Porto for €12.6m, it is a brutal, rapid verdict.

His first year in Italy never really ignited. Ten Serie A appearances for the Bianconeri, flashes rather than a run of games, then the decision to send him to Bologna in a loan swap that saw Emil Holm head the other way. It was a deal that looked like a chance for everyone to reset.

It did not stick. Neither Juventus nor Bologna pushed to make the arrangement permanent, and Joao Mario returned to Turin this summer still looking for a home, training in pre-season with a future that felt temporary.

Now Fiorentina are attempting to seize that uncertainty. The Florence club see value where Juventus see surplus, and the bid is expected to move quickly. Talks are advanced enough that a resolution could arrive within the coming week.

For Juventus, it is a chance to clear space and edge closer to recouping a significant portion of their original outlay. For Fiorentina, it is a calculated gamble on a 26-year-old who has already shown, at Porto and in bursts in Serie A, that he can operate at a high level on the flank.

If the deal goes through on these terms, Joao Mario’s next step is obvious: prove in Florence that Juventus gave up too soon.