Juventus have officially triggered their obligation to buy defender Lloyd Kelly after his loan move from Newcastle United.
The 26-year-old’s time on Tyneside has come to an abrupt end after just six months.
It never clicked for Lloyd Kelly at Newcastle United, and he sought an exit shortly after signing a six-year deal at the club.
Kelly’s move to Juventus got off to a bad start after Italian media blasted him for a shaky debut. Just a couple of weeks later, Kelly made his Champions League debut against PSV Eindhoven. The defender coincidentally came up against Newcastle target Johan Bakayoko in the tie, but could do very little to stop the Old Lady being knocked out of the competition.
After Thiago Motta’s sacking in March, Kelly’s performances picked up under new head coach Igor Tudor. It was believed that Kelly’s permanent move to Juventus was as good as done. It has now been confirmed that the Englishman will be staying in Italy full time.
With Kelly preparing to leave Newcastle for good, fans have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the deal.
Newcastle United fans react to Lloyd Kelly’s permanent move to Juventus
Kelly’s permanent exit means the need for a centre-back is even higher for Newcastle now. Sven Botman is set to be Dan Burn’s replacement, but there is yet to be a replacement for right-sided centre-back Fabian Schar.
Thankfully, it has been confirmed by Fabrizio Romano that Newcastle will bag a generous transfer fee of around €17.5m (£14.8m) for Kelly’s sale, so sporting director Paul Mitchell has extra funds to play with.
While it is disappointing to see Kelly leave without making an impact on Tyneside, Newcastle fans have shared their view on the sale via the social media platform X.
“The great thing is every penny of the fee plus add-ons represents 100% profit for PSR…… which is huge!” said one fan, while another added: “Paul Mitchell is a genius for this surely.”
This Newcastle fan looked ahead to possible summer departures, saying: “My thoughts the next one to leave will be Lascelles, Targett, Longstaff. If some clubs make an attractive offer, Willock will also leave the club.”
“Unbelievable bit of business by us.” said another delighted Newcastle supporter.
Another fan added: “We won a trophy this season yet this is still harder to believe.”
Finally, this Newcastle fan said: “Paul Mitchell you are world class.”
- READ MORE – Newcastle United player talks publicly about his future after being snubbed by Eddie Howe
Why Lloyd Kelly failed at Newcastle United
Many fans expected Kelly to hit the ground running after signing his lengthy contract from Bournemouth, but the 26-year-old failed to show why the Magpies had brought him to the club in the first place.
Eddie Howe is a big fan of Kelly. He brought him to Bournemouth from Bristol City in 2019, giving him the opportunity to shine in the Premier League.
At Newcastle, it was a case of joining the club at the wrong time for Kelly. Playing as a left-sided defender, Kelly had to prove why he should be playing ahead of players like Burn and Lewis Hall, but their form was far too good for him to establish himself as a key player in the team.
Kelly is still in the early stages of his career and has a lot of time to prove any doubters wrong. Juventus fans will also hope that Kelly is worth the money they are paying for him in the long-run.
The post ‘Paul Mitchell is a genius’… Newcastle United fans buzzing after transfer development appeared first on Geordie Boot Boys.