Former Hibs star eyed for Juventus transfer as Serie A giants grant 'green light' to make bumper advances

A former Hibs star is reportedly the subject of interest from Serie A giants Juventus this summer transfer window.

Managed by Croatian boss Igor Tudor, the Turin side are looking to bolster their ranks for an assault on the league phase of the Champions League, and possible crack at the Serie A title they became accustomed to lifting. Tudor will be backed by a healthy budget and one of his reported targets is claimed to be Josh Doig, according to reports in Italy.

The Scottish left-back overcame rejection by Hearts earlier in his career and swapped to the other side of Edinburgh, where he made a name for himself over 78 Hibs matches, then making a move to Italy with Hellas Verona.

Josh Doig claimed to be Juventus transfer target

He joined Sassuolo in January 2024 and suffered relegation to Serie B, but he stuck with them and aided their instant promotion back to the top flight of Italian football. That has not gone unnoticed it appears as according to reports in the country, “the Croatian coach has given the green light for two signings: Dan Ndoye from Bologna and Josh Doig from Sassuolo.” The valuation of Doig is said to be at 15 million, who left Hibs for what was described as a ‘significant’ seven figure fee, with the deal also including add-ons and a large sell-on agreement.

His dad, Tommy, told Destination Calcio last month of the difficulty his son earlier in his career on the road to Italy where he is now thriving: “They actually came to our house. They were going around the boys’ houses, so we were eighth or ninth to be told. He’d done really well up to this point. But at the time, (manager) Craig Levein didn’t want to sign him, didn’t rate him. So they told him as he was sitting on our sofa that he wasn’t getting a contract. It was pretty cruel to watch your son have his dreams crushed.

“It was devastating. It was all he ever wanted. But that’s football. We moved on. I said to Josh, ‘Keep going to training, wait until the end of the season and apply yourself the best you can’. And he did. He was picked to go and train with the first team at Hearts over some of the boys that had been given contracts.”

Josh Doig loving life in Italy

He added: “The thing is, behind the scenes, the club (Sassuolo) are fantastic. I would say, they treat Josh better than Verona did. Josh loves the club, loves the people. He absolutely feels at home. I just care so much and want him to be OK. But he’s strong, he gets on with it. He brushes everything off.

“It was surreal to watch him play Sampdoria. I’d watched them against Barcelona in the (1992) European Cup final. I was at Wembley. They had (Gianluca) Vialli, (Attilio) Lombardo, all these guys playing. It was amazing. To see my son play and then score against them was a dream come true. I was going to burst. I’m so proud of him, proud of everything he’s done, everything he does. But that was over and above anything I could have dreamed of.”