Juventus Transfers: 4 positions the Bianconeri still need to strengthen

Central Midfield

Juventus thought they’d solved their central midfield issue last summer when they exchanged Arthur Melo for Miralem Pjanic and drafted in the exuberant Weston McKennie from Schalke.

However, with the former spending the majority of his debut season in Turin on the physio’s bench and the latter excelling higher up the field as a space interpreter, Juve’s woes in the middle of the park failed to dissipate. Admittedly, Rodrigo Bentancur’s poor campaign combined with Adrien Rabiot’s expected inconsistency didn’t help.

Sassuolo’s Manuel Locatelli remains the club’s top target and although the deal has been a complicated one, this is a move that every party involved wants to happen and it’s expected to be completed soon. Locatelli will be a serious coup for the Bianconeri.

Arthur’s surgery, though, has thrown a spanner in the works. The Brazilian is expected to miss the start of the season and although Juve have a multitude of midfield options at their disposal, including talented youngster Nicolo Fagioli, the club seem keen on bringing in Locatelli and one other.

Reports suggest that one other could be Miralem Pjanic, who starred under Allegri at Juve but has shown stark signs of decline over the past few years and was thrust to the periphery by Ronald Koeman after joining Barcelona last summer. Overall, this is a move that we’re against. 

Creative Midfielder

This should be Juventus’ priority, although there hasn’t been too much activity on the Bianconeri’s behalf regarding the addition of another creator. Locatelli will help massively in terms of ball progression, but the Italian’s not of the playmaker ilk that Juve require.

Paulo Dybala is a maestro and Juve’s creative woes were exacerbated in La Joya’s lengthy absence last season. The Argentine’s their chief creator and capable of spearheading Juve’s attack on his own but, as Andrea Pirlo discovered, the Old Lady can’t be solely reliant on him.

I expect Dejan Kulusevski to bear greater responsibility on the creative front next season, but I’d still be exploring ways of bringing in a creative midfielder this summer as cover for Dybala, who’s yet to sign his contract extension with the club.

While links in the media have been minimal to creative/playmaker profiles, I’d be targeting the likes of RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku, Sporting CP’s Pedro Goncalves and Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini. Hellas Verona’s Antonin Barak could be a cheaper and Serie A proven alternative.

Is Philippe Coutinho a viable option? We don’t think so.