Steven N'Zonzi's transfer to Juventus appears to have moved a step closer after the Serie A club allegedly agreed to pay his £25m release clause fee.
Tuttosport claims that the Italian outfit are ready to prize N'Zonzi away from current employers Sevilla, and have no qualms over handing over the required cash to bring him to Turin.
The report goes on to state that Juventus will look to pay the money in two installments, with £12.5m going to Sevilla in January as soon as the transfer is complete, with the other half of the fee set to swell the Spanish side's coffers six months down the line in the summer.
Juventus have reportedly been tracking N'Zonzi for some time, and gained a first hand glimpse of his capabilities as a footballer during two Champions League encounters with Sevilla earlier in the season.
The midfielder is seen as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba, who swapped Italy for the UK when he rejoined Manchester United for a world-record fee last summer, and would help solidify I Bianconeri's centre midfield thanks to his combative, physical style.
Should N'Zonzi complete the proposed switch to Juventus, he would be ineligible to play for the club in UEFA's flagship club competition due to appearing for Sevilla in the tournament already this term, but the 27-year-old would be free to help Massimiliano Allegri's men attempt to defend their Scudetto crown after winning Italy's top flight five years on the trot.
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N'Zonzi only signed for Sevilla in July 2015 for a reported fee of £7m, but has become an integral part of the starting line up for the Andalusian outfit during his 15 month stay.
Before he opted to make the move to the continent, the defensive midfielder had plied his trade with Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers in England, as well as turning out for SC Amiens in his homeland.
Juventus also retain interest in Zenit St Petersburg's Axel Witsel, but interest is said to have cooled over the possibility of signing the Belgian international, with N'Zonzi now the club's main target.
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