Juventus Transfers: How assured is Rodrigo Bentancur’s future?

After leading Juventus in assists in a promising 2019-2020 campaign, Rodrigo Bentancur has seemingly taken a significant step backward in the 2020-2021 season. Now, it appears he is no longer a starter in Turin, and it is fair to wonder what the future may hold for the young center midfielder if Juve were to make expected upgrades in the summer 2021 transfer window.

Juventus are closely linked with Houssem Aouar and Manuel Locatelli, with the latter being seen as an especially good fit to solve what ails the club. But signing Locatelli would put Bentancur right at the crossroads.

Already, Arthur Melo and Adrien Rabiot seem to be preferred to Bentancur, whose poor ball security has made him an unreliable option as a starter for Juve. And as my colleague James Cormack recently wrote, Weston McKennie looks like the most ideal starter next to Arthur, and the stats say that the American is Juve’s most productive midfielder. Like Arthur, he was acquired this past summer, and the club is so impressed with him that they signed him permanently from Schalke well before the conclusion of this season.

Bentancur could very well be the fourth-best midfielder on a Juventus side that, ideally, would add a new starter this summer. That means he could be as low as fifth in the rotation, which seems startling low for a player who was probably Juve’s best midfielder in 2019-2020 and is just 23.

Rodrigo Bentancur has struggled at times this season, but Juventus still should not consider selling

So that may lead to questions about Bentancur’s overall future with the club. The Uruguayan is reportedly not “safe”, as a report from Gazzetta dello Sport, via JuveFC.com on Twitter, states that Juventus would be interested in selling him for an “attractive offer”.

I’m not sure what that offer would be, but I would think that both Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey would be higher priorities to sell this summer than a 23-year-old who was seen as a key starter last season. What has changed since then?

Some of that may be Bentancur is getting exposed a little for his limited passing range and poor attacking contributions. But I honestly think a couple of glaring errors have shrouded what has not been a terrible season from him. It’s just that he hasn’t been put in a position to succeed, since his biggest errors have come when he was a forced regista in Arthur’s absence.

Bentancur is a willing and able defender, and he’s not bad at recycling the ball as a passer. He’s the kind of guy who works well next to a real creative outlet and in a role that does not expose his limitations. But that’s not been afforded to him this season.

There are more pressing players for Juventus to sell. We have to admit that Bentancur is not quite good enough to start for Juve right now. Locatelli, Arthur, and McKennie would be ahead of him in the pecking order next season, if the Sassuolo star were signed.

But Bentancur can still play a valuable role in the squad. Based on his current form, it’s doubtful Juventus will even receive an offer that will blow them away enough to sell him. Remember the old adage, buy low and sell high. So why sell low on Bentancur? Why not wait another season, give him a role that fits, believe in him a little, and watch his stock rise? We don’t have to make any false claims about Bentancur, and we can acknowledge the areas he must improve. But an even worse mistake would be to sell Bentancur right now.