Juventus sign former Chelsea striker Mutu
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-13 10:01

Serie A leaders Juventus have signed former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu on a five-year contract, the club announced on Wednesday.

Adrian Mutu, sacked by Chelsea for using cocaine, has signed a five year contract with Juventus. [AFP]

The Romania forward, sacked by the west London club in October after testing positive for cocaine, is serving a seven-month ban but will be able to play in the last two rounds of Serie A matches when his suspension ends on May 18.

The 26-year-old played for 3-1/2 seasons in Italy's top flight after being signed by Inter Milan from Dinamo Bucharest in January 2000. He went on to play for Verona and Parma.

He was most successful in the 2002-03 season when, alongside Brazilian striker Adriano, Mutu formed the most prolific strike partnership in Serie A as Parma finished fifth.

His exploits brought him to the attention of Chelsea, who bought him for 15.8 million pounds ($29.79 million) in 2003.

The huge promise suggested by his haul of four goals in his first three matches in England, however, was followed by a lean spell in which he scored only two more league goals all season.

By the end of the 2003-04 season, Mutu seemed to be on his way out of the club and in August Juve tried to sign him on loan but the deal collapsed when the clubs failed to agree terms.

Since being sacked by Chelsea, Mutu has been training with former club Dinamo Bucharest.

The arrival of Mutu at Juventus, who lead Serie A by four points from champions AC Milan, reinforces an attack already bristling with internationals, including David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

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