Juventus expects to firm up a deal with Werder Bremen for Brazil attacking midfielder Diego by the start of June, Chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said Thursday.
The deal, which was reported and then denied last week, was now ''a virtual certainty,'' the Juve chairman said.
''We expect to go forward and be able to rubberstamp the documents by the beginning of June,'' Cobolli Gigli said.
He also dampened recent speculation that coach Claudio Ranieri would be leaving the club by saying:
''Diego is a world-class player and his arrival will probably mean adjusting the way we play. But Ranieri has thought about this and is ready to tackle it''.
Diego, 24, has been repeatedly linked to a transfer worth some 25 million euros.
Sources close to the talks said last week the player would get a four-year contract paying him 3.5 million euros a year.
Juve was forced to deny the reports, amid rumours of a counter-bid from Bayern Munich.
Diego joined Werder in 2006 in a four-million-euro deal expected to keep him in the German city until 2010.
He has played 81 times for the 2004 Bundesliga champs, scoring 36 times.
Diego last week helped Werder into its first UEFA Cup Final but will miss the match against Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk because of a yellow card picked up in the semi-final against Hamburg.
He has also picked up an injury that could mean the semi was his last match for Werder.
The striker-cum-playmaker, who scored against Hamburg, has collected 28 Brazil caps and two goals since 2003.
