Southampton star Carlos Alcaraz to replace Paul Pogba at Juventus in surprise transfer

Juventus are flying to England to complete a deal for Southampton midfielder Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian giants expect to complete a loan deal with an option to buy for £35m in the summer. Alcaraz only moved to Saints for £12m from Racing Club last January but is now keen to move to Juventus from the Championship. Juventus have booked a medical in London and have agreed terms in principle for the player who has become loving known as 'Charly' on the south coast. He will help Juve fill the void left in their midfield by Paul Pogba's absence.

Southampton's loss is eased somewhat after they landed Wales international David Brooks on loan for the rest of the season from Bournemouth this week.

The two south-coast clubs confirmed the switch on Tuesday evening, with the Wales international following fast on the heels of Cherries team-mate Joe Rothwell in moving to St Mary’s in the current window.

Brooks, 26, was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021 but has since been given the all clear and returned to action for Bournemouth last March.

He has managed just two Premier League starts under Andoni Iraola this season and will now join Saints as they push for an immediate return to the Premier League.

“I’m really happy. With the past couple of years with my situation, just to kind of come here and try and get some game time, I’m really looking forward to it and can’t wait to get started,” he told Southampton’s official website.

“That’s why I’ve made the decision to come away from Bournemouth. I think the game time was a little bit limited there at this present time.

“So I was very eager to get to a point where I wanted to be playing regular minutes and this opportunity came up and it was one that I couldn’t really turn down.”