Welshman Aaron Ramsey made the move to Juventus earlier this summer after his contract at Arsenal expired. He has signed to play for the Italian champions in a five-year deal, worth a reported 36 million.
Ramsey spent 10 years at Arsenal for whom he signed for from Cardiff in 2009. The Wales international went on to make 369 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 64 goals in those games. He won the FA Cup three times and was named the Arsenal Player of the Season following the 2013/14 and 2017/18 campaigns.
The move to Italy is an exciting opportunity for Ramsey who is arguably at the peak stage of his career, now at 28-years-old. Not only is he joining the reigning Serie A champions, he will be playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Matthijis de Ligt, Adrien Rabiot and many more world class players.
Ramsey will face competition for a starting spot in what is a squad filled with talented midfielders. That is unlikely to faze the hard-working box-to-box player, who will be looking to impress his head coach Maurizio Sarri in the training sessions before the campaign begins. Sarri should know what Ramsey is all about as he managed in the Premier League with Chelsea last season before becoming Juves next head coach earlier this summer.
Juventus are 4/9 in the Serie A betting to win their sixth straight Scudetto this season. However, the club has strengthened their squad to try to perform better in the Champions League. They have not reached the final since 2017, while the last time they were successful in Europes premier competition was in 1996.
The fact that Juventus came calling for Ramsey says a lot about the player. Given that he was available on a free transfer this summer, he would have had several offers from clubs around Europe and the choice to challenge himself in a new country is an admirable one.
Some of the great midfielders of the last two decades have played in Serie A including Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Andre Pirlo. Ramsey also follows in the footsteps of Welsh legend Ian Rush who had a spell with Juventus during his glittering career, between 1986 and 1988.
Ramsey is working hard to fit in not just on the pitch in Italy but also off it as he has been having lessons in Italian, which will help him communicate with his teammates. Unlike Gareth Bale, who has been criticised in Spain for not making the effort to learn the language, he is sure to quickly become a fan favourite in Turin.
Welsh supporters will be hoping Ramsey excels in Italy and develops his game further, which can only aid Wales, especially in their quest to qualify for Euro 2020. Ramsey is set to return to the national team for ties at home to Azerbaijan and Belarus at the Cardiff City Stadium. For now, though, the former Arsenal man will have his mind focused on getting off to a good start for the Old Lady in the famous black and white strip as he begins this new adventure in his career.