Kelly called ‘most disastrous signing in the history of Juventus’ as 21m flop

PARMA, ITALY – APRIL 23: Mateo Pellegrino of parma during the Serie A match between Parma and Juventus at Stadio Ennio Tardini on April 23, 2025 in Parma, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Former Newcastle United defender Lloyd Kelly has been described as “the most disastrous signing in the history of Juventus” by an Italian football pundit.

The rather strong statement was made on Sportitalia television by Gazzetta dello Sport writer Mimmo Cugini, when looking at the potential line-ups for this evening’s Serie A showdown between Bologna and Juventus.

There is an injury crisis for the Bianconeri, ruling out Kelly, Federico Gatti, Juan Cabal, Gleison Bremer, Dusan Vlahovic, Teun Koopmeiners and Arek Milik.

Of all those players, Cugini insisted that the Englishman was really not to be considered a loss for coach Igor Tudor.

Kelly has been a flop at Juventus

“Considering what they paid for him, I think he is the most disastrous signing in the history of Juventus,” argued the pundit.

“He is frankly embarrassing. I’ve seen him do things that we humans have never seen on a football field. Kelly is not reliable. The goal he allowed against Parma, at this level, was embarrassing.”

Sportitalia slam ’embarrassing’ Kelly

Cugini: “Kelly è l’acquisto più disastroso della storia della #Juventus ‼️”

Alla vigilia della sfida tra Bologna e Juventus, il giornalista de La Gazzetta dello Sport Mimmo Cugini ha parlato così💣⚪️⚫️#Sportitalia pic.twitter.com/EshTXybJyV

— Sportitalia (@tvdellosport) May 4, 2025

The 26-year-old was brought in from Newcastle United in January on loan for €3.8m with an obligation to buy for a further €17.2m.

There can also be another €6.5m in potential performance-related bonuses to bolster the overall cost of the transfer operation.

A product of the Bristol City youth academy, he was sold to Bournemouth for €14.8m in 2019, then moved to Newcastle United as a free transfer in 2024.

So far this season, he has made 13 appearances for Juventus between Serie A, the Champions League and Coppa Italia.