Juve have Buffon's replacement lined up

Buffon's announcement on Thursday took nobody by surprise, given his advancing age. The Italian hasn't necessarily retired quite yet, but he is finished with Juventus. The Italian champions will have been aware of this for a while now, and although they have a good second-choice keeper available in Wojciech Szczęsny, they have reportedly already begun to eye up a replacement for Gigi.

The keeper has made history with Juventus, becoming synonymous with the club in the 17 years since his arrival from Parma in 2001. 

According to Italian outlet 'La Gazzetta dello Sport', the team are now after a fairly economical option to replace him, despite many people expecting the club to go for Gianluigi Donnarumma, who people see as Buffon's natural successor. The problem with the Milan keeper is that he is represented by super-agent Mino Raiola, which means he could severely dent Juve's bank account.

The man they are reportedly after is Mattia Perin, Genoa's goalkeeper. Perin was another keeper who was tipped to be the next Buffon, before the arrival of Donnarumma, and he would apparently cost in the region of €15m. Genoa are reportedly asking for €20m at the moment, but it is expected that a deal will be met.

Perin would be offered a salary of €2.5m per year, and with this generous wage combined with Juve's status in Italy, it will be hard for the 25-year-old to say no.