Most of us accept Comolli has a very tough task.
A bloated squad of many overpaid, under-performing, low to average level players.
Many of whom are deemed not near the required quality to prove dependable starters for our latest restart. Which we all hope will finally begin to develop into a strong team heading towards challenging for top honours. Where most of us believe we should be. As our storied history confirms.
Money remains tight.
We continue seeking to recover from the tail-end horrors of Agnelli’s reign of brattish hubris and ugly mismanagement of the club. Demonstrated nowhere more clearly than the ongoing episode with Dusan Vlahovic.
Clearly there are serious debts which need servicing, hence Elkann needing to pour in EU15 before the close of the financial year to meet accounting obligations. I believe that he has invested close to EU1bn during the last five years. A staggering amount to keep the club afloat. Yet still there are those who condemn and criticise him at every turn.
In the thick and challenging frenzy to get down to business I hope that the new management structure and culture to be agreed and promoted does not forget the ideal of promoting from within. Nor look beyond assets perhaps not to be so quickly dismissed as past their sell by date or too unproven.
One test of which is whether we will see Brambilla’s NextGen squad in their promotion campaign lean towards adopting a similar style/tactical focus as Tudor applies higher up the ladder. With the idea to create an environment where players can more comfortably embrace opportunity with the main squad when moving from youth to senior levels.
I also hope the management are able to continue the pattern of recent years of utilising Next Gen players for the first team. We have seen Yildiz, Mbangula, Savona and Rouhi progress largely to more success than failure. Why not more?
Where there is a need – if the prospects look promising enough – they should be given chance to impress. Often you do not know unless you try. Not just in football but other areas of this curious existence we are gifted and cursed to lead.
It can save money, also add attraction to our youth ranks for other budding gems we might scout, who then see the potential path to the senior side when they join the ranks.
There are two younger players we already own who currently present as objectively worth assessing this Summer for inclusion with Tudor’s squad.
One is Fabio Miretti. Fresh(ish) from a successful season on loan at Genoa, where he impressed under Viera. Operating often through the inside left channels between midfield and attack in a 4231 or 3421, yet also centrally. His output in the final third – 3 goals and 3 assists – was respectable as was his work in moving the ball forward quickly from deep. His game is very much focused on building the play, creating goal scoring openings for others as well as finding them himself.
Still only 21 years old, Miretti has spent most of his career at Juve and also represented Italy at U15 – U21 levels and La Nazionale. Only a shoulder injury kept him out of the Azzurini’s recent European championships.
Now recovering his fitness back in Turin, with Genoa also seemingly signing a replacement since his departure, his future remains up in the air.
I would like to see the club show belief in the player who has amassed 83 appearances in the top flight before reaching 22 years of age. His natural skillset involving fast movement of the ball, dynamic interchanging, roaming between lines and positional versatility all fall into what Tudor is seeking to implement.
Is there space for his continued development at Juve? I hope so. For he can operate behind the attackers or deeper.
It is arguable that he could offer more value than Nico Gonzalez and/or Koopmeiners, whilst costing the club vastly less financial investment. Of course this would mean advocating the sale of those players or under utilising expensive to service assets – which has the knock on effect of devaluing them further.
Please note that I am not suggesting Miretti is a world class talent. Either now or that he will be in the future. My point is that he is Uno di noi, highly experienced in Serie A for his age, versatile, coming off a successful season and looks a progressive fit for the style of football Tudor seeks to play. I also assume if he is not afforded a look-in this coming season, his juve career is effectively over. Which would be a shame given the time and effort invested during his lengthy association with the club.
The other I would like to highlight is Riccardo Turicchia. The 22 year old left-back who returned recently to the club after featuring for Italy at the aforementioned U21 EUROs. For whom he has been a regular since mid 2024. He has also often represented Italy at other youth levels previously.
The fullback positions are one of the weakest in our squad. Cabal is a relatively unknown quantity, still not resuming full training after his ACL injury. Cambiaso has revived to show his attacking zeal of late but defensively remains troubling at best. Weah is a poor fit at FB and may well be leaving to help raise funds and seek first XI football. McKennie should never be deployed there regularly. Rouhi does not appear ready for Serie A and would be better served out on loan or moved on.
Granted, Turicchia has only played at Serie C level in the senior game. Yet so had Mbangula and Savona, both of which impressed last season when making the jump from C to A.
We must continue the process of placing trust in youth when it shows potential and we have gaps to fill in the first team. If a player is strong enough to be considered one of the best in the country of his age group throughout his youth career, and we have a dearth of quality options in his position, it makes sense to consider his progression to our first team. There is no guarantee of their success but nor is there of players we sign for mega money as we have found out many times over in recent years.
Another player I had hoped to see given chance to impress Tudor this summer is attacking talent Alessio Vacca(19). By far the brightest star of the Primavera last term, having scored 19 goals and offered 7 assists.
My expectation was a leading role in Brambilla’s promotion chasing Next Gen campaign, perhaps training with the main squad through the season, even making his debut in a low pressure match.
However, if rumours are to be believed, Vacca may soon be joining newly promoted Serie B side Carrarese.
Whilst I prefer to see him progress in-house, a dry loan with experience in the second tier could help fast track his blossoming career.
Leaving the kids alone…a quick mention of Daniele Rugani.
The 31 year old made 26 appearances for Ajax last term. His loan deal then expired in June, leading to a return to the Juve squad for the CWC.
Just the one outing in the tournament, yet it was enough to remind us of his value as a reliable option at CB. Still only 31 years old, we could do far worse than keeping him for the coming campaign. He rarely gives a poor performance and I suspect he is a more capable defender than others presently earmarked for remaining at the club by many fans.
Currently we have Gatti, Kelly, Bremer, Cabal, Gonzalez, Djalo, Savona, Kalulu and Rugani all able to play across the central backline. Remarkable, especially when considering CB upgrades through the mercato are essential in the mind of many before the new Serie A season arrives. Especially a defender who is comfortable on the ball and able to help build the play from the back.
Rugani isn’t that ball playing defender we are sorely missing but his all round game is very solid, which is more than I can say for most his peers in the current roster.
A brief look at the numbers we have to juggle in this area of the side alone offers a valuable insight of the difficulties faced by the new management team. It illustrates the hotchpotch nature and failures of our recruitment of recent years, which is mirrored across the squad. Very few successes are to be found, many disappointments.
Comolli and Chiellini, in tandem with Tudor need to work strategically to ensure the right balance between finding clubs for our small army of players deemed surplus, bringing in new talent and giving the coach a competitive, hungry squad that meets his needs. As outlined above, several options are already in house who can help achieve these aims.
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