Following the arrivals of Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria, the majority of fans and observers were left both surprised and satisfied with the Bianconeri’s January transfer market.
While the summer session was mostly underwhelming, the club’s hierarchy managed to address the gaps within the squad and landed the right profiles to fill them.
Nonetheless, sacrifices are always essential in order to balance the books and open up spaces both in the squad and in the wage bill.
Thus, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski headed to North London to join Fabio Paratici’s revolution at Tottenham Hotspur.
While this wasn’t exactly the type of farewells that sheds the supporters’ tears, it does admittedly leave us with a sense of emptiness.
Now surely we all understand the game, these departures allowed players like Vlahovic and Zakaria to join in the first place. Moreover, Bentancur and Kulusevski haven’t exactly set the world on the fire this season.
And yet, it’s hard not to be saddened by the sudden resolution of two initially-promising stints that ended up being unfulfilled.
We all remember Kulusevski’s debut last season. The young Swede was the first player to score a goal in the Pirlo era as Juventus brushed aside Sampdoria. Such a promising start that ended in a regretful manner – both for the young manager and the young talent.
The former Atalanta man failed to replicate the incredible form he showcased during his loan stint at Parma, but this doesn’t mean that his class has abandoned him for good.
He’ll have the opportunity to shine in the Premier League, and perhaps he’ll be able to find the magic in his feet once again. After all, he’s only 21.
As for Bentancur, the farewell is arguably more sorrowful, as we’re talking about a young player that we’ve been monitoring for years now.
Now surely the Uruguayan has some limitations when it comes to the technical aspect, but at the same time, his ability to win back the ball had always been on display – no wonder Antonio Conte approved his arrival.
And while we bid the most senior member from the current midfield department, it’s hard to forget that we still have three players who earn double his wages while arguably offering much less on the pitch (Aaron Ramsey left on a temporary loan deal, but we can expect him to return if he fails to persuade Rangers to keep him on a permanent basis).
But as we all know by experience, it is the ones with the hefty wages that are the hardest to get rid of.
So while Juventus surely clicked all the right buttons in this month, let’s just hope that we don’t end up regretting the sacrifices that we made to the Mercato gods.
