Juventus sign Bosnian winger Kerim Alajbegovic from Leverkusen for €30m plus bonuses

The deal

Juventus confirmed the permanent signing of 18-year-old winger Kerim Alajbegovic from Bayer Leverkusen on 2 August. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international signed a five-year contract through to 30 June 2031. Juventus disclosed a transfer fee of €30 million, payable in four annual instalments, plus €2 million in accessory charges and up to €5 million in performance-related bonuses. German outlets reported a fixed sum of €33 million. Alajbegovic is the Turin club's third summer acquisition, following Turkey defender Zeki Celik on a free transfer and Italy forward Jeff Ekhator from Genoa.

Rapid rise

Born in Cologne, Alajbegovic started at 1. FC Köln before moving to Leverkusen's academy at the age of 14 in the 2021-22 season. He never made a senior appearance for the Bundesliga side. In the summer of 2025 he was loaned to Red Bull Salzburg for €2 million, where he made his professional debut and went on to record 44 appearances, 13 goals and four assists. Leverkusen activated an €8 million buy-back clause this summer, but with competition fierce in their first-team squad, they agreed to sell him to Juventus.

World Cup breakthrough

Alajbegovic received his first senior call-up for Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2025 and has earned 14 caps. At the 2026 World Cup he featured in all four of his nation's matches, starting three, and scored in a 3-1 group-stage victory over Qatar. That goal made him the eighth youngest player to find the net in World Cup history. Bosnia exited in the last 16 against the United States.

Leverkusen's reasoning

Bayer sporting director Simon Rolfes explained the decision to let the youngster leave.

“Kerim has taken big steps recently in Salzburg after his time in our youth setup. At the same time we had to realistically assess that the competition in our squad, particularly in his favoured positions, is very strong. Against that background and considering the overall package of the transfer, we agreed to the move to Italy.”

Juventus's summer and Chelsea interest

Alajbegovic had been on Chelsea's radar, with The Athletic reporting on 21 July that he was among the attacking options considered by the London club and that he remained a target as recently as last week. He was in Leverkusen's academy when current Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso led the Bundesliga side between 2023 and 2025. At Juventus he joins a squad that has already added Celik and Ekhator this window.