Juventus Transfers: Luis Suarez makes no sense

Juventus have been linked to another big-name striker in Luis Suarez, but signing the Barcelona man makes no sense.

The Bianconeri are on the hunt for a new striker, and, ideally, Juventus would sign a well-rounded player who can help bring the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala. While Dybala is actually a striker for Juve, an interesting front three would have Ronaldo and Dybala on the left and right with an unselfish striker through the middle.

For Ronaldo, the dream is to work with Karim Benzema again, but that’s not happening. I bring up the unlikely Benzema rumors, however, to give an idea of what the ideal striker for Ronaldo and Dybala would look like.

Someone like Raul Jimenez would be great for Juventus, and Arkadiusz Milik of Napoli isn’t a bad “safe” option at a value price.

But Luis Suarez is someone Juventus should avoid.

TuttoJuve.com reports that Juventus, along with Suarez’s former club Ajax, have interest in the Barcelona forward, who is on his way out of the underperforming club.

Suarez has shown at Barcelona that he is capable of making the players around him better, as he is not a one-dimensional striker. Though with age, Suarez is becoming increasingly one-dimensional and injury-prone. He’s not someone Juve can rely on.

Juventus need to sign someone who fits them better

In Serie A, strikers can age better than in other leagues, but Juve are already moving on from a player who can no longer play at his best in Gonzalo Higuain. Suarez was better than the narrative suggests in 2019-2020, scoring 16 goals with 8 assists. But, per WhoScored.com, he’s not even averaging a key pass per game or a dribble completed per game. Why would Juve sign a less well-rounded 33-year-old over Jimenez or even the 34-year-old Edin Dzeko?

Suarez is a big name, and he’s not a bad player. But he is becoming a more flawed striker who can’t be relied upon. The man barely played 2,000 minutes for Barcelona last season, whereas Dzeko played nearly 3,000. So while Dzeko is older by one year, he seems to have more to give to Juventus than Suarez.

The Bianconeri have two options at striker. Either they pay up for the best possible fit like Jimenez or Duvan Zapata, or they go for the bargain bin in Milik or Dzeko, if he’s cheap enough. Throwing money at Suarez, who is still a second-tier option at this stage, is a sure way to get burned.

Juve aren’t interested in signing a striker they can develop. They want someone who can help them win now, which is why players like Jimenez and Milik interest them. Suarez fits the bill, but if Suarez was the No. 9 for a team that didn’t win their league and stumbled in the Champions League, is that really the guy they want? Will he even mesh with Ronaldo?

There’s too much risk and not nearly enough reward with Suarez. The rumors are splashy, but a basic analysis of the situation shows that Suarez is not the right option for Juventus.