Aaron Ramsey has agreed to terminate his Juventus contract by mutual consent, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
The Welsh midfielder joined the Serie A club as a free agent from Arsenal in the summer of 2019, signing a four-year deal worth £400,000 a week.
But with a year left on that deal, the 31-year-old has agreed to part ways with the club after struggling to hold down a regular starting spot.
Ramsey made 69 appearances for the club, starting 11 Serie A games when they won the league title in 2019-20, and making 13 more league starts when the club came fifth a season later.
Come 2021-22 he was a peripheral figure under Max Allegri, with injury issues also affecting the early parts of that campaign, which he ended on loan at Rangers.
Ramsey crucially missed a penalty in the Europa League final in May as Frankfurt earned the sudden-death shootout win after a 1-1 draw.
With a year remaining on his contract at Juve, the club were struggling to find a suitor willing to pay a transfer fee, and so the move to terminate his deal lightens the club’s wage bill and allows Ramsey to find a club with this winter’s World Cup in mind.
Earlier this month, Cardiff City – who had been linked with Gareth Bale before he joined LAFC – were the bookies’ favourites to sign Ramsey, with a move to the MLS also suggested.
However, Premier League new boys Nottingham Forest have emerged as his most likely destination.
The club who recently added Jesse Lingard to their ranks could also bring in Ramsey on a free, with the player reportedly keen on a Premier League return having spent 11 years at Arsenal before his stint in Italy.
A move to one of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ does not appear likely, while Newcastle and Everton have been linked with Ramsey this year.
It seems likely a few clubs will make an offer to sign Ramsey on a free, but it remains to be seen how his potential wage demands could impact any prospective interest.
