The criteria Juventus must meet to trigger £20m Lloyd Kelly deal from Newcastle United - reports

Less than six months after arriving on a free transfer following his release from AFC Bournemouth, Kelly left St James’ Park to link up with the Italian giants on January transfer deadline day.

Kelly joined the Old Lady on an initial loan deal until the end of the campaign with a £20million obligation to buy. And the criteria to trigger the latter has reportedly been revealed.

What must happen for Lloyd Kelly to Juventus permanently

According to Tuttomercato, Juventus must qualify for any of the next season’s UEFA competitions to trigger a permanent deal for Kelly. That includes the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

As it stands, Thiago Motto’s side currently sit fourth in the Serie A table, occupying a Champions League spot. Fifth is a Europa League spot while sixth guarantees a place in the Conference League.

A breakdown of the Lloyd Kelly deal

After confirming the signing of Kelly, Juventus released an official statement breaking down the cost of the loan and permanent fee.

“Juventus Football Club S. p. A. announces that an agreement with Newcastle United Football Club for the temporary acquisition, until 30 June 2025, of the registration rights of the player Kelly Lloyd Casius has been reached for a consideration of €3 million (approx £2.5m) for sporting season 2024/2025, with additional costs of up to €0.8 million (approx £0.66m).

The agreement further entails the obligation for Juventus to definitely acquire the player’s registration rights, subject to the achievement of certain sporting objective during the season 2024/2025. The agreed consideration for the definitive acquisition is €14.5 million (approx £12.0m), payable in three financial years, with additional costs of up to €2.7 million (approx £2.24m).

“This consideration may be increased up to a consideration of €6.5 million (approx £5.4m) over the duration of the player’s contract, upon the achievement of further performance objectives. Given the high probability of the conditions for the player’s acquisition being achieved, this transaction for accounting purposes, qualifies as a definitive effective acquisition from today for a total amount of €17.5 million (approx £14.5m), plus additional costs.

“It should be noted that the final evaluations about the accounting recognition of the transaction will be performed for the preparation of the Annual Financial Report as of 25 June 2025.”

What Eddie Howe said about Lloyd Kelly’s exit

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe didn’t want to lose Kelly but recognised it made financial sense for the club. The 26-year-old was behind the likes of Dan Burn, Sven Botman and Lewis Hall in the pecking order and on a sizeable weekly salary.

“It wasn’t necessarily my decision to let him leave. I think it's very reluctant from our side because Lloyd's a player that just recently signed and we believed in him and his qualities,” Howe said.

“[It is] slightly frustrating for him that he hadn't played more, but in part that is due to the form of the other players around him.

“But I think we're in the world and we have been this window of trying to manage PSR [Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules] and trying to make decisions that benefit us in the long term. And this is one of those decisions.

“Lloyd leaves with our best wishes. He's certainly had an exemplary attitude in his time here. I'm sure he'll do well in Italy and it's an exciting new challenge for him.”