Juventus have confirmed the signing of striker Jeff Ekhator from Genoa in a permanent deal worth €16 million, with a further €2 million available in performance-related add-ons. The 19-year-old has signed a five-year contract running to June 2031. As part of the arrangement, Juventus Next Gen forward David Puczka moves in the opposite direction to Genoa. The deal is the first major piece of business completed by Juventus's new sporting director, Giovanni Carnevali.
Ekhator is a Genoa academy product through and through. Born in the city to Nigerian parents, he joined the club's youth system at just eight years old and worked his way up through the ranks, helping Genoa's under-18s win the national title in 2023-24 before making his first-team debut in the Coppa Italia in August 2024. A Serie A debut against Inter followed a week later, and from there he became a regular fixture in Genoa's attack, racking up appearances across two seasons.
For Juventus, the appeal is obvious: a physically imposing forward — he stands at 6ft 2in — with genuine top-level potential, signed on a long-term deal at a relatively modest fee by modern standards. The move comes with Dušan Vlahović having left the club, leaving a gap at the top of the attack alongside Jonathan David, Loïs Openda and Arkadiusz Milik. Manager Luciano Spalletti was reportedly consulted before the deal was struck and is said to value Ekhator's physical presence in duels, his movement, and his composure in front of goal — qualities Juventus want to develop within their first-team environment rather than leave at a mid-table Serie A club.
Genoa lose one of their own in Ekhator, a player who came through their academy and had become a symbol of their youth development work. He made over 50 appearances for the first team across all competitions, contributing five goals and an assist, and had established himself as first-choice or first-change centre-forward by the end of last season. Losing a home-grown talent to one of Italy's biggest clubs is a blow, though the fee and the arrival of Puczka as part of the deal will soften it, and Genoa retain a sell-on interest given the structure of the payments.
Ekhator's numbers at club level are still modest for a teenager finding his way in Serie A — five goals in over 50 appearances is a return built on graft and physical presence rather than a prolific scoring record so far. What has accelerated his profile is his form on the international stage: he was called up by Italy for June's friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece, made his senior debut, and set up the winning goal in the game against Greece. That step up, arriving within weeks of his move to Juventus, is a significant marker for a forward who only turns 20 in November.
At Juventus, Ekhator is unlikely to walk straight into a starting role given the competition from David, Openda and Milik, but the length of his contract suggests the club see him as a long-term project rather than an immediate fix. Expect him to be used as an impact option and rotation piece under Spalletti in the early part of the season, with his physical profile making him a useful outlet against deeper defences, before a fuller assessment of his role once pre-season and the opening weeks of the campaign play out.