Juventus: 5 things we learned from the 2020/21 season

4. The future is bright

Superstardom is a matter of inevitability for Federico Chiesa, whose superb second half of the season saw him emerge as a fan-favourite in Turin following his eyebrow-raising move last summer.

Boasting an impressive turn of pace and pesky persistence, the Italian proved an invaluable outlet with a ridiculous energy supply throughout his debut campaign. His evolution in the final third was laid bare as well. Chiesa arrived with the ‘raw talent’ tag and someone who needs to mature in front of goal to reach the supposed ‘next level’.

The former Fiorentina man registered eight goals and eights assists in Serie A, outperforming both his expected goals (6.0) and expected assists (6.5) by the largest margins of his career thus far – highlighting a new-found maturity and superior decision-making on his part.

Chiesa will evolve into a protagonist of Juve’s ‘new era’, if you will, alongside Matthijs de Ligt, who was a mainstay in defence following his impressive end to the 2019/20 campaign. The Dutchman’s throwback style is refreshing but works in harmony with Juve’s DNA. Overall, the 2020/21 season did little to distort his projection as one of Europe’s leading defenders further down the line.

Dejan Kulusevski, meanwhile, sparkled sporadically but his potential is distinct. The young Swede exudes confidence and control in possession and the Coppa Italia final displayed his ability to pull off the spectacular with slick nonchalance. Pirlo struggled to find his optimal role, although Kulu started to find his feet as part of the front two functioning between the lines and interchanging down the right.

There’s no denying that seven league goal contributions was a fairly poor return, with Kulusevski hurt by a prolonged rut during the second half of the season. But anyone with a functioning brain should be aware that the 21-year-old is not a talent to give up on.

So, adding those I just mentioned to a list that also contains McKennie and Merih Demiral, it’s clear that Juve have an exciting young core to build around.

Youth squad members Radu Dragusin, Nicolo Fagioli and Felix Correia were also introduced to senior action at various points in the campaign, with Italy Under-21 international Nicolo Rovella joining the club in the summer.

Juve must persist with their recent transfer market trend of searching for gifted youngsters as opposed to veteran free agents. Think long-term amid the transition period. It may be easy to seek a short-term solution following a humbling campaign, but the board must put egos aside and embrace the challenge of rebuilding a title-winning team.