Year after year, Juventus continue to be plagued by the same old issue: A great lack of creativity in the middle of the park.

Sporting director Federico Cherubini inherited this problem from his predecessor. Although he did well to sign Manuel Locatelli and Denis Zakaria, the issue persisted.

Yes, the former Sassuolo man proved to be the club’s most complete midfielder upon his arrival, while the Swiss is arguably a more polished version of Rodrigo Bentancur. But neither man truly possesses the flair and creative eye to untie the knots.

What Juventus need at the moment, is another Andrea Pirlo. But after a dozen or so of failed experiments, it’s time to abolish the idea and ban the term “New Pirlo” altogether, after proving to be curse for many young midfielders.

But perhaps the obvious answer for our problem has always been in front of us.

Like the rest of Calcio fans, Juventus supporters had little joy while watching Italy’s shocking World Cup elimination at the hands of North Macedonia.

While some Bianconeri supporters pointed towards a lack of character which might be partially down to the absence of the Juventus block, perhaps one Azzurri star could be the answer for the club’s lack of creativity.

Of course we’re talking about Marco Verratti.

The PSG playmaker produced a fabulous performance, dribbling and dancing around the opposition while providing one killer pass after another that his teammates repeatedly wasted.

Back in 2012, the diminutive star could have made the move to Turin following a fascinating Serie B campaign with his hometown club Pescara. Nonetheless, the Old Lady decided to focus on another young starlet in Paul Pogba.

The Frenchman turned out to be a brilliant signing himself, enjoying four wonderful seasons at Juventus before leaving for a world-record fee. So no reason to weep here.

In a thrilling twist of fate, Pogba is once again on the Bianconeri’s shortlist, ten years following his initial arrival. But perhaps the club should opt for a different choice this time.

Whenever Verratti is playing, one would feel that he is exactly the type of player that Juventus is missing – the final piece of the midfield jigsaw.

With all due respect to Jorginho, his performance against the Macedonians was far from inspiring, as he sat deep, took little risk and preferred to go for sideway passes (reminds you of someone?)

Now let’s make it clear, putting the words “Juventus” and “Verratti” in one sentence (let alone a title) is in itself a wishful thinking. After all, the man plays for a club that neither wants nor needs to sell its best players – just ask Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

However, the biggest deals always begin with a bit of wishful thinking. Cristiano Ronaldo, Matthijs de Ligt or even Dusan Vlahovic all sounded like highly unlikely coups at first.

So if Cherubini, Arrivabene and company truly want to fix our midfield issues and build a squad capable of challenging the biggest club in the world, then they must at least attempt to catch the big fish.

While the odds will surely be against them, perhaps Juventus were always destined to sign Verratti. So there’s no harm in trying – at least once every ten years.