Grading Juventus’s Mercato Dealings

Juventus was extremely active this offseason, rejuvenating its ageing roster with a number of key arrivals. Fabio Paratici aimed to reduce the Bianconeri’s wage bill and was ultimately successful, shaving 30 million euros compared to last season. 

It may have taken until the final days of the mercato for many of Juve’s deals to be done, but the Italian champions were able to shake up their stuttering midfield and add some much-needed speed to their attack. Paratici’s inability to sign a fullback may come back to haunt him, but all in all, it was a decent transfer window for Andrea Pirlo’s men.

Let us take a deeper look at Juve’s mercato dealings:

IN: Arthur, Weston McKennie, Dejan Kulusevski, Federico Chiesa, Alvaro Morata, Rolando Mandragora (option exercised and loaned back to Udinese)

OUT: Gonzalo Higuain, Blaise Matuidi, Miralem Pjanic, Mattia De Sciglio (loan), Daniele Rugani (loan with option to buy), Douglas Costa (loan).

Juventus wasted no time revamping its midfield this summer, swapping Miralem Pjanic with Brazilian international Arthur. The former Roma midfielder struggled in his final season under Maurizio Sarri and desperately needed a change of scenery. As a result, Paratici took advantage of a unique opportunity to swap Pjanic for the 24-year-old. In many ways, Juventus emerged as winners from this deal. Paratici was able to get a younger midfielder, all while swapping out a struggling one. In addition, the reported fees involved should impact both sides’ balance sheets positively.

Beyond Arthur, the Bianconeri surprised the masses and secured U.S Men’s National Team midfielder Weston McKennie. The former Schalke man initially joins on a three million euros loan deal with Juventus possessing an option to make the move permanent for a further 18 million euros. Rookie tactician Andrea Pirlo is eager to see his side press higher up the pitch and McKennie’s arrival helps in this respect. Moreover, the formula is advantageous and represents yet another low-risk, high upside transaction.

Looking forward to the attack, Juventus added some important depth to Pirlo’s offensive ranks. The Bianconeri had been linked with a plethora of strikers, including Edin Dzeko and Luis Suarez among others, but ultimately it was Alvaro Morata who joined. Much like McKennie, Juve paid a modest loan fee up front, this time of 11 million euros, with the option to sign him in the summer for 45 million euros. Morata is already familiar with the league, having played for Juve before, and is younger than the strikers previously linked with the club. Moreover, the Spanish international has proven to be a willing runner and will press the opposition unselfishly. Once again, the formula of the deal allows Juve to reassess his signing next summer and is another example of shrewd business.

The last signing Paratici made is Federico Chiesa. The Fiorentina winger joins the Bianconeri’s deep ranks of forwards and offers the side unpredictability in the final third. Juventus sorely lacked speed on the counter last season and went about adding it diligently this window. Between Dejan Kulusevski, Morata and Chiesa, the Italian champions have a new-look frontline; one that is capable to hurt the opposition on the counter. 50 million euros is a steep price, however, once again, it is important to look at the formula.

Juventus will pay two million this year, eight the next, and then the final 40 million euros to complete the deal. The Bianconeri were able to defer the purchase all-while adding a quality player. The only concern is potentially stunting his development. Will the Italian international play as a wingback or compete for minutes along fellow summer arrival Kulusevski? Simply put, there’s only room for one of them. The Swedish international was initially signed in January but only joined this summer. Kulusevski has already hit the ground running and could just emerge as the signing of the summer.

While Juventus’ signings were impressive, their outgoing mercato ultimately disappointed. David Beckham’s Inter Miami FC did Paratici a huge favor, securing Gonzalo Higuain and Blaise Matuidi off his hands, while the sporting director struggled to permanently rid the side’s deadwood. De Sciglio, Douglas Costa, and Rugani will all likely rejoin the side following their loan deals, postponing the inevitable to next season. In this sense, Paratici failed.

The Juventus sporting director also fell short in his pursuit of a fullback. Juventus currently lack a quality option out wide and will rely on Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro for much of the season. Chiesa is not a wingback, despite playing there at times, and is at his best in the front three. Much of Juve’s success will depend on Pirlo’s ability to make up for the lack of fullback, deploying crafty solutions in his 3-5-2.

Overall, Juventus fans should be happy with the mercato as a whole. The club was able to add some fresh legs in the midfield, all-while reinvigorating the attack with hungry faces. However, Paratici’s failure to add quality fullbacks could prove to be crucial in the later stages of the Champions League. Otherwise, his inability to sell was disappointing, but eventually managed to part ways with many of Juve’s declining players.

Mercato rating: 6.5/10. 

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Juventus land Federico Chiesa

Even if it took a flurry of moves on deadline day, Juventus managed to sign Federico Chiesa from Fiorentina, a player they have coveted ever since he debuted. The 22-year-old winger has joined on a convoluted formula: a two-year loan with an initial €3M fee to be paid immedialy and €7M next summer and a €40M option to buy that will become an obligation if some conditions are met, plus €10M add-ons. As reported by few sources, the Old Lady will automatically acquire him if they finish in the top four in one of the next two seasons, if he registers either ten goals or ten assists or if he plays a certain, and moderate, number of minutes. It is de facto just a technicality to dilute the payments over the next few years. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 38

Atalanta: Josip Ilicic will miss another one and will be probably joined by José Palomino, who picked up a thigh problem in the last game.

Bologna: Mattia Bani (calf) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (thigh) will not be back for the season finale. Mitchell Dijks and Ladislav Krejci (thigh) have been ruled out. 

Brescia: Jhon Chancellor and Simon Skrabb are out, while Jesse Joronen, Alfredo Donnarumma and even Andrea Cistana are in the squad list, but that is not necessarily an indication they are certainly going to play.   Continue reading

Serie A Injuries and Suspensions Report – Round 35

Atalanta: Hans Hateboer is suspended, while Josip Ilicic again was left out to work on his conditioning.

Bologna: Mitchell Dijks is disqualified, Jerdy Schouten (thigh) remains sidelined.

Brescia: Nikolas Spalek is out due to yellow-card accumulation, Simon Skrabb is questionable with a bruised ankle. Jesse Joronen returned in the last game. Time is running out for Andrea Cistana. Continue reading

Serie A Injury Report – Round 33

Atalanta: Robin Gosens was a late scratch against Juventus, but he has been called up and therefore avoided serious problems. Luis Muriel suffered a head trauma in a domestic incident, but he is fine and will be back for the next match.

Bologna: Federico Santander and Andrea Poli have recovered from their thigh injuries. Mattia Bani is pretty much done for the season with a calf strain. Jerdy Schouten (thigh) will be back in a pair of weeks.

Brescia: Jesse Joronen is out with an undisclosed injury, joining Andrea Cistana (tibia), Enrico Alfonso and Dimitri Bisoli (patellar tendon) on the mend. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 32

Atalanta: everybody is available and perhaps that is one of the reasons behind their success.

Bologna: Stefano Denswil is suspended, while Roberto Soriano won the appeal and will be available. Federico Santander and Andrea Poli should not be out much longer with their thigh strain, while Andreas Skov Olsen returned in the last round. Jerdy Schouten will miss a couple of weeks due to a biceps femoris strain. 

Brescia: Emanuele Ndoj was available against Torino. Jhon Chancellor (thigh) is progressing and is likely to come back at some point, Andrea Cistana is still 50/50 for the season. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Supension Report – Round 31

Atalanta: José Palomino is suspended.

Bologna: Roberto Soriano was red-carded in the last game and has been suspended for two matches. Gary Medel was a late scratch for the last game due to back spasm, but he is in the squad list. Ibrahima Mbaye and Andreas Skov Olsen (thigh) recovered enough to be called up. Andrea Poli and Federico Santander are nursing thigh strains.

Brescia: Andrea Cistana (lower leg surgery), Jhon Chancellor (thigh) and Dimitri Bisoli (patellar tendon) remain sidelined, Emanuele Ndoj and Enrico Alfonso are questionable.  Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 29

Atalanta: Ruslan Malinovskyi is suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Josip Ilicic is not 100 percent after an ankle sprain but he is at his coach’s disposal. José Palomino is out with a thigh injury. 

Bologna: Federico Santander and Andreas Skov Olsen remain out with thigh strains. Andrea Poli will miss up to ten days with a thigh pull. 

Brescia: Andrea Cistana (lower leg) and Jhon Chancellor (thigh) will be back in mid-July at the earliest, Dimitri Bisoli (patellar tendon) is out until December. Continue reading

Serie A Injuries and Suspension Report – Round 28

Atalanta: Josip Ilicic returned from an ankle problem in the last game, thus they have nothing else to worry about.

Bologna: Federico Santander and Andreas Skov Olsen will be out for a while due to thigh strains.

Brescia: Jhon Chancellor (thigh) will miss another one. Andrea Cistana is not close after repairing his peroneal tendon during the lockdown. Continue reading

Coppa Italia: Milan vs Juventus Preview

Juventus will take on Milan in a midweek Coppa Italia away bout, where they will be looking to gain an edge in the first leg of an 180-minute contest that will be completed in three weeks, on March 4th. The Bianconeri fairly easily eliminated Sampdoria and Roma to get to the semi-finals. Their dominance in the domestic cup was interrupted last season, when they were knocked out early by Atalanta after taking home the trophy for four straight editions. A streak that allowed them to run away in the historical standings, as they were previously tied with Roma at nine.  Continue reading