Juventus: What is the club’s biggest position of need?

Although Juventus currently sit fourth in the Serie A table, there is reason to be optimistic about this team’s prospects in the 2020-2021 season and beyond. Young players like Matthijs de Ligt, Arthur Melo, Federico Chiesa, Weston McKennie, and Dejan Kulusevski look like real building blocks, for example, and veterans Alvaro Morata and Danilo have experienced a resurgence under Andrea Pirlo’s guidance.

But as their position in the Serie A table indicates, Juventus are still very much far from the finished product. They have a couple of glaring weaknesses in their side, and none moreso than their lack of creativity in midfield.

Let’s look at the raw data. Per WhoScored.com, the Bianconeri have only one midfielder with a minimum of 1,000 minutes played and 1.0 key passes per game. That midfielder’s name is Weston McKennie. Among all midfielders, Aaron Ramsey is the one leading the way with three assists, but he’s only managed to log 751 Serie A minutes due to injury.

Juventus could use some extra help in the middle of the park, specifically from a creativity standpoint. Paul Pogba and Houssem Aouar stand out as the two most obvious names to fill the void, but the Black and White have also been linked with Borussia Monchengladbach’s ascending center midfielder Florian Neuhaus.

Paul Pogba or Houssem Aouar could fill this void for Juventus

Whichever option they choose – and Pogba and Aouar are the most preferable, depending on what Manchester United and Lyon want, respectively – they need a difference-maker. Juan Cuadrado and Alvaro Morata have been carrying the team from a creative standpoint this season as the leading assist providers, and the injuries to Paulo Dybala and Ramsey have not exactly helped matters for Andrea Pirlo.

More depth up top offensively and a new left-sided player would help Juventus. That’s absolutely true. But when watching how often Ronaldo gets into good positions and does not get the right pass or how often Juve look out of ideas in the attack, you can’t help but wonder how much better the Bianconeri would be with a true playmaker with the ball at his feet. A guy like Aouar or Pogba threading the needle with their passes, surveying the pitch with their vision, and cooly creating space against defenders off the dribble would be ideal for Pirlo.

We are months away from Juve being able to make a splash in the summer transfer window. If they have the capital to make just one big move this summer, then there is no doubt that they should allocate those resources to a midfielder who can truly make a difference with slick dribbling and key passes. The forwards need more service, space, and creativity to play off of.