It took 377 days. From 1 September 2025 — the day Edon Zhegrova signed for Juventus from Lille — to 13 September 2026 and the Mapei Stadium, where in nine minutes of the second half he scored twice, the Kosovar winger waited an entire year to make his mark in black and white at the highest competitive level. The wait, when it ended, ended emphatically. Two goals in nine minutes. The journey, Gazzetta notes with characteristic directness, is now all downhill.
The Summer That Almost Ended Before the Goals Arrived
The context matters. Against Parma in the second Serie A match, Zhegrova was excluded from the squad entirely — seemingly on the verge of a departure that never materialised. Against Milan, he came on in the 89th minute. He had accumulated 23 Serie A minutes across two appearances before the Sassuolo match. His exclusion from the UEFA Europa League squad list had appeared to confirm that the chapter at Juventus might close before it had truly opened.
And then Spalletti sent him on at half-time at the Mapei Stadium. And Zhegrova repaid the faith with two goals — the brace that transformed a 2-0 deficit into 2-2 and briefly suggested a remarkable comeback.
Spalletti’s post-match verdict captured both the player’s extraordinary offensive potential and the honest assessment of what still needs to improve: “When he creates these one-against-ones he becomes unplayable and unpredictable. If you play an offensive match he is an incredible player.” The implication — that his defensive and recovery work requires further development — was equally clear.
The Fantacalcio Verdict — a Low-Cost Gamble With Intriguing Upside
La Gazzetta’s Fantacampionato quotation for Zhegrova stands at 20 credits — firmly in the low-cost bracket given his profile and potential. He has been voted in two of four possible fixtures so far, carrying a current fantamedia of 6.2. His exclusion from the Europa League list removes the double-competition appearance risk that drives up prices for players involved in both Serie A and European football.
The Gazzetta assessment frames him as an intriguing and accessible gamble for fantasy managers prepared to accept inconsistency in exchange for the explosive scoring potential his Sassuolo performance so vividly demonstrated. He is not a reliable starter — the competition from Conceição, Alajbegovic, González, and Boga remains fierce — but his ability to produce a brace in nine minutes from the bench is precisely the quality that makes low-cost attackers worth the investment.
The door to his Juventus story has not closed. It has, after 377 days, finally been properly opened.
