After another miserable cameo from Douglas Luiz, Juventus fans are left to wonder whatever happened to the midfielder who took the Premier League by storm last season.
The former Aston Villa star has been a shade of his former self since joining Thiago Motta’s ranks following a €55-million move.
While his early struggles were attributed to his physical condition, Calciomercato correspondent Cristiano Corbo senses a deeper problem.
The Italian journalist suggests the 26-year-old simply doesn’t fit into Motta’s playing style.
The Italo-Brazilian manager is seeking pace and verticality from his midfielders, and has been receiving satisfying answers on the pitch from the likes of Manuel Locatelli and Nicolo Fagioli. Even Weston McKennie has managed to creep his way back to relevance.
On the other hand, Corbo argues that Luiz has been operating at a much slower pace, thus struggling to interpret Motta’s philosophy.
The journalist also feels that giving away penalties in back-to-back matches is a combination of bad luck and costly blunders on the player’s part.
Therefore, it remains to be seen if the Brazil international will manage to overcome his early slump and finally showcase the sort of form that prompted Juventus to splash the cash (in addition to giving away Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea) to secure his services.
4 Comments
Funny, the tifosi thought he would be the Brazilian savior and berated McKennie for not accepting Villa’s terms. Anyone with knowledge of the EPL knew this was no “bargain” for Juve and now we see Luiz is a new squad level player on a big contract.
I’m wondering: Why wouldn’t Motta use him as a backup for Koopmeiners?
Ok, maybe he has a lower pace, but i think he suits better as an attacking midfielder then as a deep lying midfielder.
Agree.
That penalty yesterday was not his fault, ⅒ of a second sooner and he’d have his foot on the ball not the Cagliari player foot. Both penalties were weak and the ref was consistent in his calls.
If any player is a dilemma at the moment, it’s Vlahovic. How many sitters has he missed so far? 5 goals in the last 3 games, you’ll argue,3 were penalties. Matri was a better #9
The team is playing great, but Luiz needs to adapt to Italian league, he hasn’t had a lot of consistent time on the pitch to adapt.
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