With the transfer windows around Europe now slammed shut and the dust starting to clear, we can finally take stock of where Juventus stands before getting down to the real business – on the pitch.
UEFA’s (hypocritical and inequitably applied) CFCB restrictions, on top of no Champions League football, always meant this would be a rough mercato – we simply have neither the financial muscle nor glittering allure we used to.
Still, Giovanni Carnevali, Frederic Massara, and Marco Ottolino spent quite a lot – the Bianconeri’s -€137.85m net expenditure (including obligations negotiated in prior windows) tops Serie A and is more than the club’s previous two seasons combined, nearly closing the gap on opulent Como’s lead over the last five years combined.
On paper, this should catapult Juve firmly into the title race, and though expectations are always lofty for the peninsula’s most storied club, there’s still been a mood of tepid wariness lately, despite the immense outlay. Will our performances actually reflect this high price?
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to review the current team and its preparation for the new campaign without acknowledging the single most glaring problem: Because UEFA rules require the 25 players registered to include four trained in Italy and four trained at the club for at least three years between the ages of 15-21, and our squad submitted on deadline day only has five of those eight, the remaining three slots had to be left blank.
Khephrem Thuram’s exclusion is fine, as he’lll be recovering from surgery until 2027 anyway. But this means Daniele Rugani, Edon Zhegrova, Jeff Ekhator and Arkadiusz Milik were left out not for tactical reasons, but because our hands were tied by poor squad building. We’re now not only short in Europe, but also unable to rotate these bench players against weaker opposition to keep the starters fresh for Serie A weekends, compounding the consequences across multiple competitions.
As for the transfers themselves, let’s dive in.
(C) GOALKEEPERS
After failing to secure our first, second, or even third or fourth choice options, it can feel pretty demoralizing to scrape further down the depth chart, especially at a club famous for being led by the best keeper of all time for so many years. But in context, it’s clear this is a stop-gap season before going all out for Marco Carnesecchi or free agent Alisson Becker next season, so so be it.
(B-) OUT Michele Di Gregorio; €1.3m+€0.8m Loan, €12.7m+€1.5m Option/€1.5m Penalty
IN Guglielmo Vicario; €0 Loan, €8m+€2m Option
Confidence can be everything. Di Gregorio inexplicably went from Serie A’s “Best Goalkeeper” to an unreliable mess in the blink of an eye… and we’ve replaced him with someone who experienced a nearly identical fall from grace at Spurs. For this reason alone, a change of scenery will probably do them both some good, and early signs are already promising after Vicario’s top save against Parma last week (though DiGre’s yet to get off the bench). While it is deeply concerning that our “upgrade” was statistically even worse at preventing goals last season (and it wasn’t particularly close), if he balls out, his meager buy option will be considerably cheaper than whatever Atalanta will demand for Carnesecchi.
(F-) OUT Mattia Perin €0.5m
IN Kamil Grabara; €0.5m Loan, €11.5m Option
Any difference in ability between the two is probably relatively marginal, and hopefully we won’t need Vicario’s deputy to see the pitch much anyway. But it cannot be overstated how much of an unforced error this really is – this move is why we can’t register Zhegrova. Backup keepers are the easiest way to fulfill locally-trained player requirements (there’s a reason the barely-Italian Como refused to send Emil Audero back home to us), but we’ve unnecessarily shot ourselves in the foot. Yes, Perin’s been a loyal soldier who deserves respect, but that means letting him walk at the end of his contract next summer when we have a domestic replacement lined up. Selling for peanuts now and losing a squad slot was simply a massive own-goal bordering on gross incompetence – anyone who’s played Football Manager even once would know better. Why didn’t our management?
(B-) DEFENDERS
Despite Luciano Spalletti’s continued transitioning from a back three to a back four, our defense has experienced much less drastic turnover than other areas of the pitch.
IN:
(A-) Jhon Lucumí; €19.5m+€2.5m
A strong left-footer to pair with Bremer’s right, who’s been consistently solid in Serie A for years, and we didn’t let any World Cup hype drive up his fee? It won’t be the flashiest deal, but it could quietly end up being the best.
(B+) Zeki Çelik; Free Transfer
This signing gets bonus points because we hijacked Roma’s renewal talks and forced a direct rival to spend €18m on a replacement instead. He’s no world-beater, but he knows the league, and he comes cheaper than activating the buy option on Emil Holm. Let’s hope he survives the rotating door and lasts longer than the last five or so RBs.
OUT:
(B-) João Mário; €1.8m Loan, €9.5m Option
It seems we’ve tried a new right back every six months since Danilo, and unfortunately this one joins the graveyard alongside the rest. It’s probably just as much our fault as it is his, and he’ll probably be back again next summer, anyway.
(C) Javier Gil Puche; Loan, Details Unclear
Apparently shipped off to Atletico as a bargaining chip to get them to pay part of Jonathan David’s salary, will Next Gen’s now-ex-captain be another regret of ours down the road? If the rumors are true that we retained a buyback clause, hopefully not.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:
Juan Cabal OUT
Cabal has always been an error-prone liability well below the level of quality required for Juve. I don’t know why we ever bought him in the first place, and it’s very frustrating that he refused to move to Atalanta, tanking the deal for Nico Tagliafico (who, if we wanted to sign him, should’ve been brought in on a Bosman last summer instead anyway). Spalletti hasn’t trusted him since that Galatasaray nightmare, so now Çelik is forced out of position on the left. We should’ve banished him off the squad list to force a Turkey move and leave a registration slot for an imperfect last resort free agent like Raphael Guerreiro or David Alaba.
Tarik Muharemovic IN
It is disappointing that we couldn’t figure out how to bring our boy back, even with our 50% sell-on fee essentially acting as a half-off coupon, and especially since he’s already shining for Leeds. But while I’d prefer him to Gatti, Rugani, and probably Kelly, it seems the calculation was always for the spot Lucumí ended up filling instead anyway.
(C+) MIDFIELDERS
With a seemingly refreshed Douglas Luiz and an already reignited Nico Gonzalez returning from their loans, if Spalletti can get better results out of them than Thiago Motta did, they may feel like our best midfield signings. I’m just relieved we skipped the tired “Weston McKennie Out?” song and dance for once.
IN:
(B-) Pape Matar Sarr; €2m Loan, €28m Option/Obligation
Sarr was a hot prospect who burned out a bit in the dumpster fire that is Tottenham Hotspur. He wasn’t Spalletti’s first choice physical midfielder, and his technique isn’t amazing, but if we can revive him and he continues to grow, we may forget the six-years-older Franck Kessie pretty quickly. If not, considering they each asked for roughly the same wages, the Ivorian free agent could be hugely missed in hindsight…
OUT:
(A) Vasilije Adžić, €0.5m Loan, €12m Option, €13.7m Buyback
The Montenegrin announced himself with a shock when he scored one of the great Juve goals of all time to KO Inter at the death in that 4-3 thriller, and then… was virtually never heard from again. Sending him to Sassuolo with a buyback option is the best move for all involved.
(C) Fabio Miretti; €2m Loan, €13m Option/Obligation
I really thought between him, Nicolò Rovella, Nicolò Fagioli, and Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, at least one of them would at least partially fill the homegrown CM shoes Claudio Marchisio has left open all these years. Alas, it seems the club has run out of patience waiting for him to really blossom, though Il Principino was only a few months younger when he started breaking out – was including a buy option/conditional obligation really the best idea when we could’ve just sent Teun Koopmeiners packing instead?
(Somehow both A and F simultaneously) Arthur Melo, Mutual Termination
Can there be any doubt that Arthur was the single worst transfer in Juventus history? Besides the €100m spent for just 63 painfully mediocre appearances (€1.5m per game!) over six exhausting years, the ensuing scandal also cost us -15 points and Champions League qualification for a season. We’ve finally taken the L and exorcised the demon by just tearing up his contract, and though we’re somehow still paying for him, at least this divorce is final.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:
Teun Koopmeiners OUT
Honestly, how is he still here? I know he just scored a tidy finish (after an injury crisis forced Spalletti to throw him on), but it’ll take a lot more than that to convince me he isn’t just fool’s gold.
(C+) FORWARDS
All three strikers we sold are in the top nine for goalscorers born in the 21st century. At what point do we start asking if WE are the problem?
IN:
(A) Jérémie Boga; €4.8
Signing a serviceable Serie A veteran to provide much-needed backup for an injured Kenan Yıldız for such a low fee is a great bit of business.
(A-) Kerim Alajbegovic; €32m+€8m
He looks to be a real gem. Let’s hope he lives up to the hype – and the price tag.
(B-) Randal Kolo Muani; €38m+€12m
There’s no doubt he wants to play for Juve, and he certainly did alright during his loan stint, but I fear that, once the honeymoon stage wears off, many Juventini will realize they’ve been looking at Kolo Muani through rose-colored glasses. This is a player who has scored low double-digit league goals just three times in his career – he’s coming off just one in 30 for a struggling Spurs – and arguably may be better as a winger. That could be worth the experiment if we weren’t so desperate, and he wasn’t our 2nd highest earner. I obviously want him to do well, and more appealing options may have been out of budget, but with Moise Kean going for a similar amount, you have to ask – is this really the best we could do?
(C+) Nick Woltemade; €4m Loan
The 6’6” German has technique despite towering, yet it’s baffling as to why Newcastle deployed him as a 10 instead of a 9. Hopefully this explains why he scored fewer than one goal per 10 appearances, and he kicks on more prolifically for us. Despite the low cost, it’s still a big risk, and there’s no buy option if he does impress. We can only hope that if he blows up there’s a viable verbal agreement, because as it stands, next summer we’ll just be right back where we started needing a striker either way.
(C) Jeff Ekhator; €16m+€2m
With just five goals in his professional career (despite making 57 appearances for Genoa), this 19-year-old is definitely one for the future – whether he proves to be a diamond in the rough or another dud, it’s too soon to tell. When the Bianconeri were dominating the league, this is exactly the sort of move we would make with an eye on the long game, but with the amount of improvement our current sub-par squad still needs, was this the best use of our limited funds right now?
OUT:
(A+) Adin Licina; €0 Loan
Some will say Licina’s instant impact in Cremona proves we should’ve kept him with the first team, but seeing him thrive with consistent minutes is precisely why the loan was the right move. I’m just glad Juve resisted the urge to ship him out for plusvalenza at the first possible moment like we do with every other Next Gen prospect – with any luck he could be a natural replacement for Zhegrova next year (or January?) if he never gets out of his slump.
(C) Jonathan David; €0 Loan, €25m Option
Second only to Erling Haaland in goals scored by players born since 2000, David had never racked up fewer than double digits in a single season in his entire career before coming to Italy, where the more tactical defenses crushed his confidence beyond recovery. He is inarguably a capable striker, but he wasn’t a fit for us – still I wonder if we should’ve given him another year to adapt if we didn’t have a better offer on the table. He’ll have more space in La Liga, but I’d be shocked if Atletico buy him in the end, especially with the competition they have up top, so I’m not quite sure what the point of loaning him there was if we weren’t gunning for Alexander Sørloth in return.
(C) Lois Openda; €3.5m Loan
It took him just five matches for Lyon to equal his tally in 34 for us (two). Maybe they’ll actually try to keep him, though it’s not very encouraging to see no buy option included upfront.
(D) Dusan Vlahovic; Expired Contract
Vlahovic was never a bad player – an unfortunate combination of him being massively overpaid, Max Allegri’s conservative style, and injury struggles made things look worse and break down more than they needed to. It may have been time for both of us to move on, but regardless of how you feel about the Serb, losing him for free was still a mismanaged financial disaster we can’t afford.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:
Kaio Jorge IN
Remember him? Still only 24, he’s been killing it in Brazil, knows the team and league, and would be 30% off from our own sell-on clause – he could’ve been a clever rotation option.
OVERALL GRADE: C+
It wasn’t the best mercato of all time, but, with a little luck, it could turn out to be far from the worst, too. Before time tells if I’ve been too harsh or not, let me know what you think in the comments below.
By Weston Pagano | X
