(Football news) Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey joins French side Nice on a free transfer. The 31-year-old was a free agent after the final year of his contract with Juventus was "mutually terminated" in July. Ramsey had been linked with a return to former clubs Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest but his move to the Ligue 1 club comes before Wales' appearance at the World Cup finals later this year. He is set to become the second Welshman to sign for a French club following international team-mate Joe Rodon's loan move to Rennes
Ramsey joined Juventus on a free transfer in 2019, with the player reportedly to be on £400,000 a week but despite winning a Serie A title and Coppa Italia in his first two seasons with Juventus, Ramsey struggled to make any sort of impact in Italy. Injuries, which have often been a curse on his career as he played only 70 times in two and a half seasons, scoring six goals. Last season he made just five appearances for Juventus and spent the second half of the 2021-22 campaign on loan at Scottish side Rangers. However, his move to Scotland did not work out either when Ramsey missed a penalty in the shootout as Rangers lost to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final.
He was excluded from the Juventus pre-season travelling squad as boss Massimiliano Allegri's went without the likes of Federico Chiesa, Mattia de Sciglio, Kaio Jorge, Arthur Melo, Marko Pjaca and Adrien Rabiot. Ramsey was already without a squad number this season, having previously worn the number eight shirt before his contract was cancelled last month. Charlotte FC were one more team that had reportedly made an offer for the midfielder, with Ramsey ultimately not opting to not follow Gareth Bale to MLS. Ramsey after leaving Arsenal signed a four-year contract with Juve in February 2019. However, he never truly replicated his Arsenal form while at the Italian club. He was loaned to Rangers in January and went on to score two goals in 13 appearances with the Scottish club but got heavily criticised by the fans. Now the 30 year old will hope that Nice is a fresh start and hopefully regain some much needed confidence before the World Cup.
Also read: French club Nice reach agreement with Leicester for Kasper Schmeichel
