Juventus: Ranking the Bianconeri’s top 5 forward targets
The Turin-based Alvaro Morata enthusiasts eventually heaved a sigh of relief as Juventus confirmed that the Spanish international would be at the Piedmontese side until June 2022. Juventus made the right choice this time, believe many. Considering the choices they had, tying Morata to a further year, albeit a loan transfer, is the best they could do in the middle of the pandemic-impacted market. The deal will reportedly cost Bianconeri €10 million, but, on the bright side, Le Zebre will get to cherish the attributes of the Spaniard for another season.
With Massimiliano Allegri returning to the helm, the focus is on a potential renovation of the whole squad. The Striking department hasn’t been an issue since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join the cause of Juventus in 2018. But it could be next season as rumours have kept on suggesting a possible departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. And even if Ronaldo stays, the need for an extra striker is quite notable, with the current Juve team seriously lacking the presence of lethal backups in the forward section.
Keeping that in mind, only Morata’s loan would not meet the demands of the Piedmontese club. Juve have been linked to several forward options this summer, but will they get to sign any of them? We can only gauge the possibilities, and then time will tell us the complete story. Here, we have ranked five possible forward targets for Juventus.
5. Gabriel Jesus — Juventus shouldn’t be dreaming, right?
Over the last few weeks, Gabriel Jesus has been extensively linked with a summer move to Juventus from Manchester City. But, before diving into the details, let’s assess the current situation of the striker. 24, Jesus is bound to Man City’s terms until June 2023. He just finished the 2020-21 campaign for Manchester City, becoming the champions of England in a season where he logged 14 goals and 4 assists from 2,835 minutes of football across all competitions (per Transfermarkt).
Manchester City have recently lost Sergio Kun Aguero to Barcelona on a free transfer, meaning Pep Guardiola is already on the hunt for a suitable replacement for Aguero. And in this situation, would he even consider allowing another one of his star strikers to leave the Mancunian club this summer? It is highly unlikely.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the idea of a loan deal has been mentioned between the clubs, with the Juventus boardroom mainly interested in “acquiring (Gabriel Jesus) on loan, without immediate financial obligations”.
The pandemic has affected Juve’s finances heavily. Now, if they were to sign Jesus, valued at €60 million by Transfermarkt, permanently, they would have to sign him by paying an enormous transfer fee. Signing on loan, on the other hand, would come cheap.
But then again, Gabriel Jesus, despite having a subdued 2020-21 season for Guardiola’s Man City, is liked by his coaches and is not the sort of player one could expect to get on a loan.