4 reasons for optimism from Juventus’ summer transfer window

4. Core remains

Finally, and this ties in somewhat with point one, the club retained their most valuable assets not called Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. Federico Chiesa was the subject of interest from Bayern Munich and Chelsea, while Paulo Dybala stayed in Turin despite having just a year left on his contract. Hopefully, a new deal is agreed soon!

Ronaldo’s departure will hurt, no doubt. But it allows Juventus to evolve into a more cohesive and collective unit in the 36-year-old’s absence. During Ronaldo’s spell, they failed to replicate their 86 Serie A goal haul during the 2017/18 season, the year before CR7 arrived.

2019/20 Serie A MVP Dybala is now the protagonist, and he’ll be supported by one of Europe’s most electric stars in Chiesa as well as a superb centre-half in de Ligt. Locatelli and Rodrigo Bentancur, potentially transformed by his return to a box-to-box role, make up Juve’s current core.

Veterans such as Danilo and Juan Cuadrado provide invaluable versatility, while Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will be relied upon to complete 38 league games between them following Demiral’s exit. You can’t rely on Daniele Rugani, I’m afraid. Nevertheless, the timeless duo proved at the Euros that they’re still capable of competing at the highest level. Allegri will rotate the pair in a bid to manage their workloads.

There’s a foundation to build upon in Turin, that’s for sure. Success may not be immediate in the post-Ronaldo era, but there’s nonetheless a starting block for another period of domination further down the line.

Stay patient, Juventini. This window simply wasn’t as bad as the vast majority are making it out to be, especially in the long-term.