Newly promoted Juventus Turin have hired Italy striker Vincenzo Iaquinta from Udinese for
$10.7-million (around R76-million), La Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old World Cup winner leaves the Udine side after seven seasons to join Juve as they look to strengthen their squad after securing the return to the Serie A with three games left.

Under the deal, striker Michele Paolucci, who is owned by Juve but currently plays with Ascoli, is to join Udinese as a loan.

The Turin club have previously signed Czech defender Zdenek Grygera from Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich's Bosnian midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic.

Juventus were last year punished with the first relegation in club history over a match-fixing scandal. The Italian football federation (FIGC) also handed down a nine-point penalty on Juventus and stripped them of the Serie A titles they won in 2005 and 2006, awarding the latter to Inter Milan. - Sapa-dpa