Juventus Scout Brahim Diaz as Carnevali Tears Up Comolli’s Scouting Model

Juventus are sending scouts to the 2026 World Cup with a specific brief to monitor attacking targets, and La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that informal contact with Brahim Diaz’s representatives will be made during the tournament – the clearest signal yet that the Real Madrid midfielder is a genuine summer priority rather than background noise.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, new Juventus director Giovanni Carnevali is dispatching club representatives and scouts across the USA, Canada, and Mexico to assess transfer targets and emerging players. The Diaz contact is framed as informal at this stage – representatives, not a formal bid – but the intent is deliberate.

Why Spalletti Wants Diaz

Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti has identified Diaz as a priority target for his attacking rebuild. The logic is straightforward: the 25-year-old can operate as a No. 10, a wide playmaker, or a second striker, which maps directly onto the fluid pressing structures Spalletti prefers. His three-year loan spell at Milan under Stefano Pioli in a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 hybrid is cited consistently in Italian coverage as proof that he can function at the sharp end of a demanding tactical system in Serie A.

Since returning to the Bernabéu, Diaz has posted 13 goals and 14 assists in 103 La Liga appearances – productive numbers for a player who has never been an undisputed starter at a superclub. Italian tactical columns have framed him as a low-cost, high-upside option relative to elite creative targets such as Bernardo Silva, because the Serie A acclimatisation work has already been done.

Real Madrid’s Position and the Competitive Picture

The obstacle is Real Madrid’s leverage. Diaz’s current contract runs to June 2027, having been renewed in 2023, which means Madrid can demand a meaningful fee and are under no pressure to sell. Reports from Spain indicate the club have discussed an extension toward 2030, though no agreement has been reached. Real are also understood to be factoring in how younger talents – Nico Paz among them – develop before making a definitive call on Diaz’s long-term role at the club.

Juventus are not alone in monitoring this closely. Multiple Italian reports confirm that Inter are also tracking Diaz and plan to use the World Cup window to test the temperature with his camp. That creates the conditions for a domestic bidding contest if Real open the door to a sale – a dynamic that will push any eventual fee higher and hand Diaz considerable personal leverage over where he lands.

Diaz himself has not indicated a willingness to move. His stated first preference, per Spanish and Italian sources, is to remain at the Bernabéu. Real Madrid’s own stance is expected to harden or soften depending on his World Cup performances with Morocco.

Carnevali Dismantles the Comolli Model

The Diaz pursuit is happening against the backdrop of a significant structural overhaul at Juventus. Gazzetta reports that Carnevali’s first substantive act as director is to dismantle the scouting infrastructure built by predecessor Damien Comolli, which was constructed around algorithmic analysis with scouting operations partially outsourced to an external consulting service.

Carnevali wants human expertise back at the centre of Juventus’ recruitment process. He is working to bring Matteo Tognozzi back to the club and hopes to appoint Davide Cangini – currently at Sassuolo – as Head of Scouting. Those appointments, if completed, would represent a clean break from the data-first model and a return to traditional relationship-based scouting. The broader structural changes sweeping Serie A clubs this summer make Juventus far from unique in reassessing how they identify talent, but the speed of Carnevali’s pivot is notable.

The Verdict

This is genuine transfer groundwork, not a speculative name drop. Juventus deploying scouts specifically to make contact with Diaz’s camp during the World Cup, with Spalletti personally invested in the profile, is a substantive level of commitment. But the variables are stacked: a contract running to 2027, a club in Real Madrid with no urgent need to sell, a player whose preference is to stay, and Inter waiting in the wings. Whether this becomes a real deal depends almost entirely on what Diaz does in North America over the next few weeks – and what Real decide his future looks like once the tournament is done.