A very busy summer transfer window ended yesterday, Sky Sports devoted their usual day to the subject where there simply is hardly anything to report other than a player being spotted in their local Tesco. Sky are still picking at the rotting carcass that was the Berbatov/Robinho deadline day of 2008, not one deadline day since then has been nearly as newsworthy. No further signings were photographed with ECG pads on their chests (why is that a Juventus thing now?) or similarly smiling for the cameras in another club’s shirt as Juve’s business was completed with the signing of Benedikt Howedes on Wednesday.
We started off in July knowing that we needed a central midfielder and at least a left winger (no offence to Mandzukic here). In total we signed, and this includes those on loan and whose moves were made permanent and only major first team players, 1 goalkeeper, 2 defenders, 2 midfielders and 3 attackers. All for a combined total of £127m. Going other way we made a total of £108m. So, Douglas Costa, Bernardeschi, Howedes, De Sciglio, Szczesny, Matuidi, Benatia, Bentancur and Cuadrado cost us £19m. I am of course just adding two figures together and there is much more to a mercato than that. However it’s a good illustration of how sensible Juve have been throughout the summer. To get to the point where we have bought the majority of a first team for the average cost of a twenty-something midfielder we have said goodbye to arguably our most influential defender. However the pros of Bonucci’s departure far outweigh the cons. Having a messiah complex as big as J Stadium isn’t good for team morale. No matter how big a player is, the club will always win.
Back to the positives though, we could’ve bought a tenth of Neymar for that £19m, that has to be good business, right? Well apparently not. In the past few weeks Marotta/Agnelli and co have been accused of “penny pinching” and “bargain hunting” by many of Juve’s social media followers. Why? Well it was apparent we needed a ‘world class’ midfielder, but who? Tolisso went to Bayern early in the summer, Verratti and N’Zonzi appeared to be only faint rumours. However when one looks at the current incumbents we have a pretty fine crop. Pjanic is our stand out player, but is ably supported by Marchisio, Khedira, Sturaro and new signings Matuidi and Bentancur. All but Bentancur and Sturaro have vast domestic and international experience and can easily play in most midfield set ups across the world. Their talents are a mixed bag it has to be said but I am not complaining when looking at the squad as a whole.
No world class midfielder required, but in these modern times of stupid transfer fees and wall to wall, 24 hour football coverage it’s hardly surprising those who view calcio as some kind of console game will demand a superstar is bought for tens of millions rather than shrewdly buying players who fit our formation, style and tactics. The aim is to build a squad with depth and filled with intelligent players who know our system, not shoe horning in a superstar because we have to be seen to be keeping up with the Madrids and Bayerns. We are not PSG or Manchester City.
As soon as Matuidi signed, for me, that was all we needed. Having let Rincon and Lemina go it was obvious a natural defensive midfielder would join. Matuidi shows all the qualities we missed so much at times last season, there is a more in depth look at Matuidi here. The two signings we have made in midfield more than make up for any big name player. Rodrigo Bentancur, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, is a very intriguing signing, a hugely influential player at youth level for both club and country, he is taking a valuable non-EU player place and is virtually the only young player not to have been loaned out this year, he made his debut last week in Genoa and Allegri clearly has plans for him. I admit I haven’t seen him play and I try not to pay attention to YouTube highlights videos, however I do trust Allegri, not loaning him out means we’ll see plenty more of him this season.
As I mentioned above Bonucci has left, we all know why and where to so I won’t go into it again. I have no doubt that Juve will miss his passing ability and composure which is why signing Matuidi is all the more important, the link to the defence and conversely the attack, by allowing Pjanic to play further forward, will be strengthened. Matuidi showed this quality in abundance in his substitute appearance against Genoa at the weekend. The knee jerk reaction of many was to sign a replacement for Bonucci. So how do you replace the world’s best ball playing defender? Who is on a par with him? Pique? Ramos? Again several fans were outraged when a world class (there’s that phrase again) wasn’t procured from one of the continent’s top clubs. Did we need to though? Absolutely not. Benatia and Rugani will obviously command more playing time now, given Benatia’s poor showing against Lazio in the Supercoppa it appears, for now, Rugani has won that particular battle and his early season performances have been encouraging. Mattia Caldara will be back from Atalanta next year and as mentioned below, Howedes will play a more than able supporting role too.
Another egotist, Dani Alves, left on a free transfer. I was always of the opinion he only played at the level we’re used to in a handful of games last year, namely the latter stages of the Champions League. Other than that he very often flattered to deceive after taking a while to settle in to Serie A. Judging by his bizarre and somewhat undermining social media posts I am in no doubt that, along with Bonucci, he is well rid of. That obviously leaves us with a perceived gap at right back and to a certain extent on the right wing. Being realistic Barzagli and Lichtsteiner are always going to be a squad players now, given their age, although I’m certainly not questioning their determination, ability and character here. Barzagli offers more versatility as he’s able to play at centre half too. Quality attacking full backs are at a premium hence the reason why Allegri added a squad player here; Mattia Di Sciligo isn’t in the Alves mould but can certainly add depth to both full back positions. Established in Serie A and has turned out for the Azzurri over 30 times. Like Matuidi, Mattia’s signing was met with derision by most Juventini, however his experience and ability adds much needed quality to the defence. Again, quality attacking full backs are rare and breaking the bank for one was unlikely and unnecessary. Our most recent signing, Benedikt Howedes, is one I am very excited about. Schalke captain, 40 plus international caps and World Cup winner; he is extremely versatile, this usually means he would be equally average in each position, but according to my sources (whoscored.com and transfermarkt.com) he isn’t, very much a defending full back, which is probably the way to go when you look who will be playing in front of him on the right wing. He will be a steal at under £15m if we exercise the permanent deal option next summer. Three players in one. Exactly what we need and fellow German, Khedira, will help him settle.
Now we all know Mario Mandzukic isn’t a left winger, however when Allegri switched to the 4-2-3-1 last year he moved him out wide and he performed admirably, a constant physical threat with bags of determination, flair and attacking threat. He also gave Alex Sandro the confidence to move into the final third safe in the knowledge Mandzukic would have his back. To be a continued Champions League favourite we obviously needed less square pegs in round holes and so Douglas Costa was signed from Bayern (that now familiar loan-and-cash-in-a-year’s-time type deal, £27m next summer in Costa’s case). Again, not a Gareth Bale or Julian Draxler but 9 assists in 21 starts (Bundesliga and Champions League) is a decent return for an attacking, flair player and an upgrade in a definite position of need for Juve. On the other side of the pitch we will, eventually, see Federico Bernardeschi, undoubtedly our biggest signing of the mercato. Young, Italian and coming off the back of his best season yet. He can play effectively on the right or as a trequartista. This would obviously cast doubts over the longevity of Juan Cuadrado; a true marmite player who is too inconsistent for my liking. Again in developing the needs of the squad I can see why Allegri made Juan’s loan move permanent towards the end of last season. He will provide flair and experience of playing in Serie A to Juve’s ranks. However given his early season performances he, like Khedira, are surely on borrowed time and as soon as Bernardeschi is given real, meaningful minutes on the pitch, Cuadrado will find himself mainly a substitute.
The two players I mentioned there can also influence our attacking play, both Dybala and Higuain will ultimately benefit from the signings of Bernardeschi, Cuadrado and Costa. Higuain in particular will thrive on their playmaking abilities. Dybala, surely a future Juve captain, continues to grow into the superstar trequartista we need. During the summer we were at the ECG-pads-on-the-chest stage with Patrik Schick however those tests clearly flagged up something the Juve medical team (and ultimately the board) didn’t like and the deal was cancelled. There are far more Machiavellian reasons for the deal not being completed, depending on who you believe. I’m not overly concerned we didn’t sign him as I felt our priorities lay elsewhere. I am only bothered the deal fell through at such a late stage, some better due diligence investigations are needed here in future. Moise Kean has joined Hellas Verona on loan for the season, I’m glad he’s gaining valuable experience in the top division. We have Marko Pjaca coming back from injury in the autumn as well as the aforementioned Mandzukic, Cuadrado and Bernardeschi; more than enough to create and score goals. My only concern is Higuain looked absolutely shattered towards the end of last season and his style of play lends itself to huge physical exertion; I hope the supporting cast are able to sufficiently lend a hand if needs be.
As much as I hate to admit it Gigi Buffon is coming to the end, surely he will be considered the best goalkeeper of his generation when he finally calls it a day. Signing Wojciech Szczesny is a good piece of business by Allegri; established Serie A player and arguably the best keeper of last season, no need to bring in a nervy youngster to take over the hallowed number one jersey. A bargain price too. Going after a world class keeper here wouldn’t have made any sense as Gigi is still going strong and keeping two great goalkeepers happy is almost impossible.
So no world class signings, no marquee players, no statements of intent. I am glad of that when you look closer at exactly who we have signed, their future role in the team and the fees we have paid out for them. We aren’t a soulless, plastic, oil rich club who can throw money around. Every single one of the players to be photographed for the first time in the black and white jersey will benefit the squad and that is the most important thing to remember from this mercato. If you’re scoring it a 5 out of 10 I assume this is based on who we have signed rather than looking a little deeper into why. January is the next time the Pandora’s box of calcio opens again, I hope Allegri, Marotta and Paratici do not deviate from their path of making this squad a robust and competitive one by buying players who benefit Juventus Football Cub rather than ones who benefit merchandise sales.
Yeah, I’ve got to say I’m pretty happy with who we’ve bought and the difficult players we’ve let go of. Matuidi and Howedes I think will particularly shine, I already think matuidi looks quality…… but very happy for the other signings to prove me wrong! It’s all about the team, togetherness , intelligence and playing for the shirt. Juve disciplines few others have. Baffling thing these apparent bids for bellerin and mustafi though, seems almost like fake news to me. either way not needed, very happy with what we’ve added to the team to build on last year.
The mercato is 99% fake every year. Look at the nonsense the tabloid journalists fly for the 90 days it’s open.
‘fake news’…this term does make me chuckle. I am not taking a pop at you Mr craddock…more the amount of goons I see on social media bandying the term around, as if the news was suddenly fake, in recent times, before which it was all true and objective…Just another silly term made up and mass disseminated for a variety of reasons. The news that is served up to you on a plate, at the touch of a button, has always been propaganda, marketing of the corporate agenda which owns the news and the governments. Any ‘news’ which costs you nothing, as in not even the effort to delve, to seek it out among the massive amount of fluff, is costing you something to consume; namely it’s earning its value to the producer through the direction it conjures…
No offence to you mate! I have just been smiling more at the use of the term of late. I hear people say ‘no thats fake news!’ with a proud look on their face and wonder what the devil they mean…
A round of applause to you Dave for what I consider an amazing in depth article, which shows your deep understanding of the game, for the new lads to look at and understand why juventus football has and always will be a great club, because of logical strategies especially in the transfer market. Looking forward to your future articles.
Many thanks, your comments are very much appreciated. I am pretty passionate about Juve and if there’s a contentious subject to debate I’ll write about it!
Valuable insight on a difficult subject to write on. Well done again Dave. Your work is never short of impressive and thoughtful.
Cheers, Travis. I try and present the subject as it is and give my opinion on it. A difficult subject to write about as we’re just starting the season and the mercato is mostly about speculation.
the most dissapointed for me is we chose to buy Bernadeschi. we should spend that much money for Tolisso or Nzonzi. i just don’t trust any italian forward. besides we already have Pjaca.
Question marks over the long term fitness of Pjaca and over whether Cuadrado can hold down a first team place. Signing FB was vital in my opinion.
We had the money for N’Zonzi. It is just that it wasn’t a good investment. I would have loved him to come but he would have benefited us for the next 3-4 years maybe 5 but he s near 30 whilst we will have Can either this January or next summer. As for Bernardeschi, he is arguably the best Italian prospect you can find and don’t forget we are an Italian club after all. I would have liked Schick as well but oh well he didn’t come so now we will have to support the players we have and I trust them
We were never going to pay 50 million for Tolisso like Bayern did, it’s too much money for him. Keep in mind if we signed Tolisso Bayern would not loan out Costa so it worked out perfectly for us. Pjaca is interesting but his injury was scary, we are stacked with wingers now. I’d take Matuidi over Nzoni any day.
The only thing that bothered me during this mercato is the choices we ve made on players who wanted to join us : Tolisso, Schick and Keita. We had them in hand but we decided not to pay their full price so their clubs sold them elsewhere. I just hope that we will not regret it but apart from that it has been a great great job done by Marotta and Paratici. I also believe in the plethora of youngsters we have. From Mandragora to Kean, I think that they are some of the reasons why we didn’t sign exciting prospects such as Keita. We have an armada of young talents who are flourishing on loan and I believe -or at last I hope- that they will be given a chance at Juve
Don’t forget the ‘smile at camera with thumbs up in ten different locations….’ That has become a Juve thing too! I can imagine the new recruits have it in their pre-signing discussions with Beppe… “now from Caselle airport onwards to J Medical remember to give a thumbs up at every opportunity. Even when you are on the treadmill sweaty and knackered….”
Just to say Dave I would have amended your second paragraph to say ‘and sometimes ably assisted by Khedira’. I was hoping we would see less of him this year with new arrivals onboard, but judging from his performance against Genoa he’s implementing his own no-show policy anyway.
The medical thumbs ups are really annoying!
Mercato like meracto but… why are new players sitting on the bench? ‘Cause
***
Giorgio Chiellini says Federico Bernardeschi must keep working to reach
the right level – “playing for Juventus is different to playing for
Fiorentina”.
***
??
Really? So I think our “great manager” would even sit Messi on the bench…
Brilliantly to the point, Dave. I find we echo a lot of very similar sentiments, perhaps as we are a little longer in the fang, perhaps as I am of english nurture more than any other culture and spent a couple of years roaming your own stomping ground…curiously, another chap from up North is also of often very similar stance. Perhaps there is an older, english way of looking at the game, for juve and beyond.
I concur on all you have noted, though probably would allow myself to dream quite boyishly in regards to Freddy, who for me, from what I have seen, has the potential to become an extremely potent member of the first XI. Its the flair married to a superb work rate which is rare…Though I will mention my view of Khedira has been increasingly negative for this last year or so. His contribution, presence, stamina and pace have all decreased and for me, to replace him in CM with Matuidi, Marchisio or even Bentancur will be positive for the side.
I have been promoting young Rodrigo for many moons. Started following him when we struck the option and loan deals as part of Tevez returning to Boca. Such a shame on Vadala, who seemed sensational at youth level, but achieved little at Juve nor at Santa Fe. As for the others, Cristaldo seemed to fizzle out after early promise, Cubas I began to ponder might well be ready for Europe, but was not really given the chance at Pescara…He had played with Rodrigo at Boca, part of the reason why Bentancur was moved from DM to a more central CM position, which turned out for the best for both players.
We got the best of the bunch, the most mature, the finest talent. His Captaincy for Uruguay U20s has helped, but he has seemed for many moons to have a calm head on his shoulders. Made a mistake or two here and there but kept his head up and grown steadily into one of the most interesting players I have seen us buy from foreign shores.
In some ways he reminds me of Pogba, not with his power, but with his ability to turn and move with the ball at his feet. Its swift, elegant, beautiful…With an expansive, intelligent passing range there are other echoes of the frenchman, but that is where it ends. He glides more than gallops, and whilst lacking a physical menace, his time at DM has helped develop his defensive nous. He is not afraid to make a tackle, but seems to prefer to follow the flow of the play and nip in to nick the ball rather than throw his all into a do or die lunge.
Essentially, I have had high hopes for a while and am so very pleased that Max has included him in the squad and even ear-marked him for a possible surprise success this season. Still he said the same of Pjaca…so lets hope its not the Max kiss of death!
Other than which, I am glad to find another pleased with the mercato and feeling all obvious areas in need of renovation were addressed, some more spectacularly than others. And what I will add is solely this-
The club has some extremely promising youngsters coming through. Not just Rodrigo, but Mandragora. Kean. Lirola. Caldara. Add in Orsolini, Spinazzolla. Leali.
A little further behind are Audero, Clemenza and Caligara.
I would say it is fair to assume as many as 5 young players presently not at the club are serious contenders for our future senior squad. Perhaps more. This plays into the club’s thinking. Why spend mega money on players when we have potentially our own stars coming through in the same role over the next year or two? It makes more sense to bring in proven quality at a sound price as we develop the younger players already in the first team squad. Sandro, Dybala, Freddy, Rugani, Pjaca, De Sciglio are all relatively young footballers.
Enjoyed the overview, mate. Cheers for the contribution.
D
Brilliantly to the point, Dave. I find we echo a lot of very similar sentiments, perhaps as we are a little longer in the fang, perhaps as I am of english nurture more than any other culture and spent a couple of years roaming your own stomping ground…curiously, another chap from up North is also of often very similar stance. Perhaps there is an older, english way of looking at the game, for juve and beyond.
I concur on all you have noted, though probably would allow myself to dream quite boyishly in regards to Freddy, who for me, from what I have seen, has the potential to become an extremely potent member of the first XI. Its the flair married to a superb work rate which is rare…Though I will mention my view of Khedira has been increasingly negative for this last year or so. His contribution, presence, stamina and pace have all decreased and for me, to replace him in CM with Matuidi, Marchisio or even Bentancur will be positive for the side.
I have been promoting young Rodrigo for many moons. Started following him when we struck the option and loan deals as part of Tevez returning to Boca. Such a shame on Vadala, who seemed sensational at youth level, but achieved little at Juve nor at Santa Fe. As for the others, Cristaldo seemed to fizzle out after early promise, Cubas I began to ponder might well be ready for Europe, but was not really given the chance at Pescara…He had played with Rodrigo at Boca, part of the reason why Bentancur was moved from DM to a more central CM position, which turned out for the best for both players.
We got the best of the bunch, the most mature, the finest talent. His Captaincy for Uruguay U20s has helped, but he has seemed for many moons to have a calm head on his shoulders. Made a mistake or two here and there but kept his head up and grown steadily into one of the most interesting players I have seen us buy from foreign shores.
In some ways he reminds me of Pogba, not with his power, but with his ability to turn and move with the ball at his feet. Its swift, elegant, beautiful…With an expansive, intelligent passing range there are other echoes of the frenchman, but that is where it ends. He glides more than gallops, and whilst lacking a physical menace, his time at DM has helped develop his defensive nous. He is not afraid to make a tackle, but seems to prefer to follow the flow of the play and nip in to nick the ball rather than throw his all into a do or die lunge.
Essentially, I have had high hopes for a while and am so very pleased that Max has included him in the squad and even ear-marked him for a possible surprise success this season. Still he said the same of Pjaca…so lets hope its not the Max kiss of death!
Other than which, I am glad to find another pleased with the mercato and feeling all obvious areas in need of renovation were addressed, some more spectacularly than others. And what I will add is solely this-
The club has some extremely promising youngsters coming through. Not just Rodrigo, but Mandragora. Kean. Lirola. Caldara. Add in Orsolini, Spinazzolla. Leali.
A little further behind are Audero, Clemenza and Caligara.
I would say it is fair to assume as many as 5 young players presently not at the club are serious contenders for our future senior squad. Perhaps more. This plays into the club’s thinking. Why spend mega money on players when we have potentially our own stars coming through in the same role over the next year or two? It makes more sense to bring in proven quality at a sound price as we develop the younger players already in the first team squad. Sandro, Dybala, Freddy, Rugani, Pjaca, De Sciglio are all relatively young footballers.
Enjoyed the overview, mate. Cheers for the contribution.
D
Also…Freddy looks a like a serial killer, swapping his psychiatric threads for freedom in black and white.
Howedes appears berserk. Look at his eyes…
And Freddy also looks strangely like a 30+ year old to my eyes. Weird.
Beautifully thoughtful. Absolutely correct when you bring up the young talent we have about that are about to make the jump from perennial loanee, to first team opportunity. Really looking forward to that.
Thanks for the reply, I feel there is a self deprecating, almost cynical view of oneself which the majority of northerners have. Maybe it’s an English trait, I’m not sure. I would certainly suggest being closer to 40 than 30 (38 to be precise) means I/we have a broader footballing knowledge, and that of life too. Although I am not suggesting this makes me some kind of footballing Oracle!
I am very intrigued by Bentancur as I mentioned. Such an impressive youth pedigree, playing regularly for a South American powerhouse and above all, named in match day and CL squads. I hope your rave reviews of him become reality.
Thinking about your reply, we do indeed have a vast number of young players out on loan and it’s encouraging to see the majority will get the chance in the first team on their return. I cast a glance closer to home at Chelsea, they too have a lot on loan and I wonder, given their outlook on buying players just how many will make it in the first team and how many will fade into obscurity. Casting a glance even closer to home I see the representatives of Manchester City’s 2014 (?) Youth cup winning team were all from Manchester. A youth policy to applaud. Again though given the similarities to that of Chelsea and throwing money around, how many of those young Mancunians will find themselves plying their trade in the lower leagues….and people wonder why England are useless.