With the transfer window shut, Football Italia rates the transfer campaigns of the big clubs, and first up it’s champions Juventus.
Words: Vincent Van Genechten
An Italian double and a Champions League final. Improving upon last season won’t be easy for Juventus but they assembled the right pieces after a controversial summer.
With the transfer window shut, Football Italia rates the transfer campaigns of the big clubs, and first up it’s champions Juventus.
Words: Vincent Van Genechten
An Italian double and a Champions League final. Improving upon last season won’t be easy for Juventus but they assembled the right pieces after a controversial summer.
The summer of 2017 will forever be remembered as the one when Leonardo Bonucci decided to leave Juventus, just as the summer of 2016 is remembered as the one Paul Pogba left and the summer of 2015 as the one Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal said goodbye. Juve fans aren’t pleased with stars leaving, but once again the Old Lady is stronger.
The story is fairly simple: stand still in defence, better in midfield and massive improvement in attack. Overall, Juventini will be looking at a deeper squad which is even better equipped for a long and successful season.
The departure of Bonucci hurts, especially in the short term. But it seems to have left more of an emotional scar than a football one. Many will agree that Leo’s positional play, leadership, playmaking, and defensive IQ are attributes Juventus will miss during the course of the season. However, it’s the quickfire sale to Milan for a fee not deemed high enough that was the talk of town.
In the end, Juve aren’t significantly worse off defensively. Daniele Rugani was deemed ready to step in Bonucci’s shoes. Meanwhile, German international Benedikt Howedes was brought in on a cheap loan and could well be one of the most underrated new additions in Serie A. Nobody’s really sure how Mattia De Sciglio will perform but, considering his history with Max Allegri, the former Milan defender could be in for a renaissance season.
Is this too positive? Perhaps. After all, Juve didn’t only lose Bonucci, they also saw Dani Alves moving to Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian is another defender with playmaking ability, and a big game performer too. However, Juve rejected huge bids for Alex Sandro and can rely on Alves’ compatriot for forward runs and dangerous crosses. An offensive juggernaut at right-back is less crucial for the Bianconeri, who never really liked Alves’ defensive flaws anyway.
On top, Juve added a lot of creative skills and pace in attack. Douglas Costa and Federico Bernardeschi have proven over the years to be dangerous. Allegri had to rely on Paulo Dybala’s magnificent mind and feet too often last season, due to Juan Cuadrado’s on/off performances and Mario Mandzukic being forced into a role on the wing.
Costa and Bernardeschi give Juventus the extra creative boost that they lacked last season, making an Alves-type right-back less of a necessity. Getting Bernardeschi from Fiorentina could be called a major success anyway, a superb piece of mercato dealing by general manager Beppe Marotta. The Bianconeri also appear to have found the heir to Gigi Buffon by luring in Wojciech Szczesny, who Buffon called “the best keeper in Serie A last season”.
Marotta’s been called a genius but a rather large group of Juve fans will point at his failure to buy a world-class midfielder. This summer it was supposed to be Marco Verratti. Then Emre Can, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Nemanja Matic… The result: Blaise Matuidi. A warrior, strong athlete and experienced midfielder. Far from perfect, but a type of player Juve lacked last season and who’ll help a guy like Miralem Pjanic blossom.
However, there’s a new midfielder few people really talk about: Rodrigo Bentancur. “A 20-year-old Boca Juniors reject”, some will say. Until you actually watch him play. This kid’s got game. A mini version of Matic. A game changer this season? Probably not, but he’ll add quality depth to a midfield that won nearly every trophy available last season.
Juventus didn’t only have a very efficient 2017 summer mercato, they also improved their squad after an historic season. Bonucci hurts and a new world class midfielder did not arrive, but overall this team is better equipped to go big once again. In the end, that’s all that matters in football.
In: Bentancur, Douglas Costa, Szczesny, De Sciglio, Bernardeschi, Matuidi, Howedes
Out: Dani Alves, Bonucci, Neto, Lemina, Rincon
Score: B+