The upcoming summer is a huge one in Juventus’ rebuilding process.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit after the 2021/22 campaign had just gotten underway forced the Bianconeri hierarchy into waving the white flag. For so long, they had dismissed the idea of a transition phase, but a sub-par Serie A finish in 2020/21 under Andrea Pirlo followed by Ronaldo’s stunning return to Manchester United forced Juve into submission.
It was time to rebuild.
This season, Juventus have very much played like a side in a period of transition. There have been peaks and troughs, while the football’s been very Max Allegri as he’s prioritised the reinstallation of traditional Bianconeri ideals.
Nevertheless, the club were thought to have made huge strides in January as they emerged as the universal ‘winners’ of the winter mercato. The sales of supposed ‘flops’ Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur were welcomed as the arrival of Fiorentina marksman Dusan Vlahovic was hugely celebrated.
Signing their long-term number nine was key to hastening the rebuild and another objective this summer is to refresh the centre-back position. Leonardo Bonucci and particularly Giorgio Chiellini are reaching the end of their respective careers, while the long-term future of Matthijs de Ligt in Turin is far from guaranteed.
Juventus’ summer centre-back targets – ranked
Federico Gatti was signed from Frosinone in January before being loaned back to the Serie B club until the summer, but the 23-year-old perhaps isn’t the De Ligt partner that’ll thrust Juventus back into serious European contention. Thus, the club are poised to make a big splash at centre-back this summer with three notable names recently being linked with a move to Turin.
Here’s a ranking of those three options – starting on the next slide.