The current season is far from over but Juventus are a club that always has at least one eye on the future. It is, therefore, never too early to look at what the next summer could bring on the transfer market.
The Bianconeri are still in the hunt for a massive treble: Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League. The league is pretty much in the books after closest rivals Roma lost at home to Napoli on Saturday. However, nothing is given in football, there are 11 games to be played and the lead is 8 points at present. Still, it would take a massive meltdown from Juve to let their record sixth consecutive Scudetto slip out of their hands.
In the Coppa, nothing is certain. However, boosting a 3-1 advantage over Napoli gives the Old Lady a clear shot at a third consecutive Coppa final and trophy. Last but not least, the elusive trophy with the big ears. Its unlikely Porto will be able to crawl back from a 2-0 deficit in Turin, but there are three stages still left to survive. Albeit, the signs are there that Juve are ready to get the job done for the first time since 1996.
Massimiliano Allegri’s current squad is as good as it gets. World class talent all over the place, a deep bench, and a winning group mentality. However, there’s always room for improvement, which is why Juve are constantly looking for opportunities to lure in new players. They’ve already secured long-term futures with players like Mattia Caldara, Riccardo Orsolini and Rolando Mandragora, but what about next season?
Let’s look at a couple of scenario’s that could happen, given a certain set of circumstances, with the focus of Juve being on buying a midfield star and world class winger.
DREAM
= Marco Verratti and Alexis Sanchez
This would the Holy Grail for the Old Lady. Juve are still heartbroken about Verratti’s choice for PSG back in 2012, when they looked to be the favourites to land the Pescara midfielder for a very long time up until his transfer to the French champions. Since, the 24-year-old has wreaked havoc in the Ligue 1, showcasing his talents as a superb midfield do-it-all player. His recent trashing of Barcelona in the Champions League only reaffirmed this, as Verratti took it out on the likes of Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta. He’s got almost everything Juventus are currently lacking in midfield. However, he comes at a huge cost, with a figure between €80 and €85 million being thrown around.
Alexis is another guy that has been linked with the Bianconeri for years. Juventus wanted him in 2011, when he left Udinese for Barcelona, and in 2014 when he joined Arsenal. Since, the 28-year-old has evolved into one of the most exciting players on the planet. However, he’s won just a single FA Cup with the Gunners and there are many reasons to believe he wants out. Juve bid for Sanchez last summer and have reportedly done it again this week. Alexis won’t come cheap and a lot will come down to the will of the Chilean. Does he want to earn less to win more? On top, the competition will be fierce for this ultimate playmaker.
CHALLENGE
= Corentin Tolisso and Alexis Sanchez/Federico Bernardeschi
Despite Juve’s growing financial power and winning resume, luring in both Verratti and Alexis will be tough. Both players are wanted by a number of other big clubs too. On top, the relationship with PSG has always been difficult and only a massive bid will get them to sell Verratti. And again, Sanchez won’t come cheap either and it depends on the player’s will if he wants to: 1. Leave Arsenal, 2. Play for Juve, and 3. Earn less than he is now.
Still, there’s a decent chance of Juve landing the Arsenal star. He knows Serie A from his days with Udinese and he’s desperate for trophies. There aren’t many teams out there who are capable of giving Sanchez that certainty; Juve can. If that proves to be insufficient, the Old Lady will have a young Italian gun with nothing but praise for them waiting in Florence: Federico Bernardeschi. Fiorentina don’t have a lot of intention of selling the 23-year-old, especially since he’s really blossomed this season in a more central role. But that’s what makes him so valuable for Juve: his versatility. Bernardeschi can play in any offensive role. And he loves to talk about the Bianconeri…
When the hunt for Verratti turns out to be useless, Juventus have already lined up an alternative: Corentin Tolisso. The young Frenchman from Lyon looks a great option in midfield, combining power with technical ability and a warrior mentality. Juventus have reportedly already secured Tolisso‘s services, which would almost certainly exclude a deal for Verratti. Tolisso isn’t a cheap option as a €40 million price tag has been mentioned, but he’s only 22 years old and ready for the big step after showing promising signs in Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
REALITY
= Corentin Tolisso and Domenico Berardi
A move for Tolisso has been months in the making but the transfer of Domenico Berardi from Sassuolo to Juventus hasn’t materialised yet, despite numerous rumours and attempts from the Bianconeri. While the young Frenchman could be the perfect alternative to Verratti, Berardi has been unwilling to move away from the Neroverdi despite some stellar Serie A outings over the past couple of seasons.
Juve’s interest in the 23-year-old seemed to have cooled since he turned them down last summer, with Inter ready to sneak in and scoop up the forward. However, Berardi was recently quoted saying: “Juventus and Inter? I’ve been closer to Juventus. Who do I see myself in? In Del Piero, because he always impressed me with the way he played.” Talking about a little Juve love from Berardi. Anyway, everyone has seen what this talented footballer is capable of. He’s pretty devastating as a playmaker from the wing, but he’s also able to play as a striker and a secondary striker. Again, that’s why he could be so valuable to Juve’s squad.
And in contrast to Bernardeschi’s case, the relationship with Sassuolo is excellent. However, in the end it will come down to what the player wants, making it difficult to predict what will happen. Juventus could end up with Tolisso, while keeping hold of Mandzukic and playing Marko Pjaca more often. Those two combined with Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado have formed a deadly offence this season, especially in the 4-2-3-1. There’s no need for Juventus to panic and over spend on players that aren’t a real necessity.
As a Juve fan im yet to be convinced by Berardi. COuld as well end up being another Zaza/Giovinco in the fact that they do well at a smaller club but fail to make the step up to Juve. Considering Arsenal wont want Sanchez to go to a rival, his options are limited to PSG, Bayern and Juventus. I dont see him singing as a dream, I see it as a realistic possiblity
There is always that possibility indeed.. I think Berardi is better though, but we’ll have to wait until he joins us/other big team to know
I’m sick and tired of Sanchez rumours xD I would like him to join, but won’t miss him at all if we miss out on him either.
Also, I really doubt we’ll ever see Berardi at Juve, I think if he wanted to, he could have been a Juventino long ago.
But of course, hope is what keeps us going when it comes to transfers! I would love Verratti, but don’t see it happen. He doesn’t really want to leave Paris and PSG has no intention at all to sell him
Sanchez rumors been going on since his udinese days haha
Exactly! 😛
neverending story
Great article there Vince!
With all the names mentioned as we arrive at the end of the playing season, I think the most important factor is the system played as of next year!
If we stick to the new love, aka 4-2-3-1 then I do not see where Verratti will be playing, especially if we keep all of the Marchisio, Sami, Pjanic guard! And we are talking about a 80+ investement ,so either one or two of the aforementioned MC leaves (I would not be too unhappy seeing Sami opting for China ) there is no way Juve invests the money needed ! In such a case I am more eager to see us spending heavilly to improve our wings , since the central positions are, if not world class, pretty close to it.
Now if the miracle does happen and we get rid of Dybala, I would love to see us switch to a 4-3-3! That way we can invest the Dybala money on Verratti, plus give Madragora and Bentancur a chance when we rotate. With the rest of the budget plus the funds from Zaza, Coman and Lemina, we can bring in whomever we like, be it B.Silva(my personal favourite) A. Sanchez, Lacazette,Isco and/or Berrardi to complete the trident up front.
From a marketing point of view though, I think the spending done this summer will be closer to your Dream suggestion(not necessarily the players involved but the amounts spend) since the team will want to enhance the introduction of the new logo with one or two block buster purchases …Imagine for a moment your one of those “I wholeheartedly hate the new logo” type of supporter and Marrotta pulls a Verratti and B.Silva along with an Isco from his hut! Would you buy the new match Kit or not?
any 1 know what happened fo Lirola? havent seen him play for a while now.
Lirola is currently injured with Sassuolo..
I think Sanchez could happen, and is clearly a vast improvement over Caudrado.
Would prefer Berardi over Bernardeschi, but still think we need to add an Italian regardless.
The concern that goes unaddressed is a backup striker, with Mario and Gonzalo playing almost every available minute we are a little short of impact forwards off the bench
Sanchez, B.Silva, Bernardeschi, Berardi, all of them would be improvement over Juan.Berardi is the cheapest choice cos of our excelent relationship with Sassuolo.The concern you mentioned is quite a problem.We have no other option, well, the only option is Pjaca, thats it. We need another striker, we sold Zaza but didnt bring any 1 instead of him.
Dybala?He is a striker after all, maybe not a 9er but definitely a striker! I too like Berardi more, mostly because of Bernadeschi being an unfinished product and we already secured Borini…..
Borini? 😛
whos borini lol
looks like he is the evil twin from Orsolini….! Sorry lads, I must stop commenting from the work….!Still, he is a prospect, he plays down the wings…you get the point….
am i the only 1 who never heard anything about juve signing some borini guy?another thing, there is nothing official that we signed Lyanco, ive read rumours that some other clubs are interested in him, and that ATM “signed” him.Anyway , Bentancur isnt official as well, right?
Thats my view as well. And sincerly i dont give little shitty. We have a cup to win.
I have no clue who this borini is either.. only know fabio borini, but he is absolutely not good enough for Juve, not even the Primavera
same here, fabio is just another joke like Bianchi, Macheda etc.Anyway, back in 2014 there was reported some rumour that we are going after Borini , fortunately, it has never happened
The only pressing need is to sign a RB. I cannot see both Alves and Lichsteiner staying another season and Dani has done little to impress other than his recent goal in Europe. De Sciglio has been a favourite of mine for many moons…
On the other flank I feel we are fine with Asamoah backing up Sandro. The CBs are fine, add in Benatia (not impressed with him either) and we are set for another season. Buffon is still superb..yet at some stage we are going to need to bring in his potential successor. At some stage a transition will need to take place and I would rather it was gradual than sudden. Give the newcomer the chance to bed into the squad rather than appearing and having such huge boots to fill. Meret continues to cause interest…
Tolisso looks like a superb prospect, and the 40m price seems more reasonable if I am to believe a deal was struck already. Perhaps 30m with bonus payment for games played and trophies won.
I do not see us selling any of the front five. Unless that is we spend large on Sanchez or Bernadeschi. As pragmatic as we are as a club, Berardi has turned us down several times, and we have our dignity and reputation to consider. If Sanchez or Bernadeschi came in who would leave? We would have six players for four positions. Which is great for rotation, but I a long term advocate of having a best first XI and playing it as much as possible…
Tolisso, Meret and De Sciglio in, Lemina, Neto and Alves out. Other than which it would be jolly to have Clemenza make the jump straight into the first team…
Why do you want Neto out? I can see him as an experienced immediate replacement for Buffon for a couple of years once he retires, to give some time for the coming long term replacement to settle in.
Neto was considering a move last Summer, and I understand why. He is a very good keeper and yet is given barely a handful of games per season as Buffon is so splendid. The scenario you suggested may well be what has been loosely broached with the players, but he may well wish to be playing football. In which case, at his stage of a career I understand. Ands I would rather have Buffon’s successor come to the club when Buffon is still playing. For he will not move to a back-up and who better to learn from, to be taken under the wing by, than Santo Buffon?
AT 27 years of age, is the money and trophies enough without playing? Does he have any desire to play for his national side? Does he wish to wait another two years or even longer to stake a claim for a starting berth at Juve?
I honestly don’t know. Did he think we would replace Buffon so soon after he arrives? If he didn’t like being second choice, he shouldn’t have signed IMO. All that said, if he wants out, sure let him go.
Well, you know how I feel about Luca “GOD” Clemenza. I feel you on Tolisso, Meret and De Scigio. Meret could learn so much from Buffon, just being around him on a daily basis. And he’s shown to be pretty class with SPAL. De Sciglio is so good, I wish we had signed him already. Can play all defensive positions too so let’s make this work.
Not sure we need any huge investment, though Sami might leave, but Tolliso fills that gap. Only other major move would be if Dybala departs. Perhaps another wide forward to challenge Mandzukic and Cuadrado, but Pjaca should be first in line there. A decent read, mate!
I couldn’t agree more with you mate! But as I mentioned before, I have a feeling that this summer on, we wont be that pragmatic at all, especially if we won the CL, I can easily see us spending a massive 150+ on “sexy” players to get the whole J project going from day one. Plus keep in mind that Marrota and co just spend over 40 M on prospects (Bentancur, Borini, Caldara, Lyaco) so it is a given that we have money! Everything taken into account, I can see as offloading Juan and Mario(none of them sexy enough) to make space for players with a bigger audience/fan base!! That is if Dybala does stay, if not we most probably stick with Juan and sell Mario and Dybala!
As for the RB, I think Milan is a very complicated partner to deal with as they are and Marrota will not want to risk another Witsel drama….They most probably go for someone else….
If Allegri stays Quadrado stays. He is not my favorite player but lets face it he defends and attacks well doing the job. And somtimes he has that bit of magic. I wonder did we buy Rincon??
Rincnone lol
I would like to ask why in all fairness he was brought in.
i heard he knows good jokes
Lemina was away and injured, Sturaro was unfit and Hernanes was on his way out…A stop gap measure to call upon if needed.
You have to admit that Quadrado is growing, and that comes from someone who is quite skeptical towards the player.
I would however also say that his instability leaves a lot of room for improvement, not to speak of his over dramatic theatrical rolls which he must mature from.
With that said, I do believe that we are getting the most out of him and if he can provide to be decisive in important games I can live with the nailbiting moments.
Off topic, watching napoli madrid and i hope that morata scores one!
Not sure whether to laugh at Napoli or feel sorry for losing a Serie A team.
Guess I will stick to laughing then, they do try ever so hard to make you dislike them anyway
After the coppa italia match you should not even have questioned!!!. They cant stand were we stand.
I cant understand how a team like Arsenal manages to get obliterated every single last 16 game for years running now.
They conceded 10 goals in 2games, that is just devastating
cos they have “great” coach in Arsene Stuborn Wenger, the guy is playing 4231 foxr 100 years with Arsenal, they are so predictable
Yeah I do think Arsenal could use a new start when it comes to coaching.. obviously, they are lacking something and it is hard not to point at the coach who has been there for 20 years, he has the squad he built himself available
gone are these days when Arsenal was considered for a TOP team, no more.Look at their squad. Only Sanchez would find a place at Juve, maybe Bellerin but thats it.They dont invest and when they do , they bring in 40m player Granit Xhaka, 40m for xhaka? lol , half of the squad are injury prone Kings, plus Wenger and his “super talented crap” from league 1 -giroud, chamakh,sanogo, debuchy…no wonder he didnt win anything for years.
Ozil would find a place in our side, mate!
yes maybe last year mate, not now.
When fit, Ozil is one of the finest attacking midfielders on the planet. his creativity, passing range and ability to deliver sublime moments of genius on the field is very rare and precious. Are you another dedicated follower of the premier league like myself? I rarely miss a game and steadfastly seek out my beloved MOTD week in week out, to continue the tradition of my earlier life in the motherland…In terms of technical ability, few can rival that fish faced skill merchant.
i follow all top leagues mate, and ozil at present is like when torres moved to chelsea, totaly dead.maybe he just needs some change or he lost his will to play for this poor arsenal.dont know.
I am far more familiar with the premier league than any other, pretty much watch solely juve games from Serie A, though do pick up the highlights of Napoli and Roma fairly regularly. I find it bizarre that anyone who has watched Ozeil this season could make any comparison to the Torres saga. Torres had also been badly injured and was simply not the same player. Ozil on the other hand has done well in the champions league, scored or assisting 7 goals in 7 games. Creating many more in the league and delivering some gorgeous performances. Yes, the gunners have been poor for a few weeks, but not the season. During this recent sticky patch even Sanchez has looked less lively.
But to have watched Ozil week in, week out for the season as a whole, I’m stunned to find you comparing him with Torres V2. Im certain that if you asked any gooner, which two players they couldnt do without it would be sanchez and ozil.
Ive not the time to follow more than one league and juve, not enough hours in the day, with work to be done, and lines to be written and ocean to be embraced and elfin temptresses to court…
i only compared their form, otherwise, they are completely different players.The thing is that Arsenal fans are talking bad things, the fans i talk to, that he became lazy and that he isnt as decisive as he used to be.Yeah he has 4g and 3 a in CL, plus 5g and5a in PL, fayn stats, but stats dont say whole story.And tbh, i dont give a shit, whole Arsenal can suck my you know what.I dont like EPL anyway.When he is on form, he is exaxctly what you wrote – one of the finnest AM in the game.But this season, he is not.dot.
I really cant believe how a team can get trashed 2 10 in the last sixteen round. I mean keep the damage down what were they thinking to score 5 against Bayern. It was an impossible feat but this is a ridiculous score.
To a certain degree I disagree
Although I do not respect the management and players for their reactions towards Juventus, you should look at the bigger picture. The more Italian teams who do well in international campaigns the more it benefits Serie A. As the dominate team of Serie A I would expect that to influence Juventus in a positive manner.
You could also say that it proves us to be stronger, if our league opponents can do more than what they have shown so far in int. competitions.
sorry mate but fuck napoli.tbh, i dont give a shit the rest of SA