Juventus Sign Simon Padoin

Serie A leaders Juventus have made a move to reinforce their midfield, acquiring Atalanta's Simone Padoin for €5million. Padoin, who played for the Turin club during their 2009/10 preseason tour, is a versatile player who's featured in over 150 matches with Atalanta since 2007. Juventus have signed the 27-year-old to a five year deal.

Acquiring Padoin ends their chase for Cagliari's Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan, who was probably a higher priority in the window, but with the Sardinians reluctant to sell Juventus were forced to switch to their backup plan - not that they admitted that when they announced the deal. The main motivation behind the switch, from the Old Lady's point of view, was that Michel Pazienza, who was acquired from Napoli over the summer to fulfill exactly the same role as Padoin, had become a liability and was agitating to move away. This move lets Juventus get rid of him.