Juventus have made numerous transfer misjudgements over the years, particularly when Thiago Motta was manager during his nine-month stint.
He completely overlooked certain squad members, without giving them much of a chance. In total contrast he also got the best of some fringe players and those he brought to the Turin titans.
With no-nonsense Igor Tudor as head coach, elevated to the position after playing hard ball and being second choice for the Juve hierarchy, there seems to be a similar pattern regarding player exits.
Motta made numerous transfer errors, splashing the cash on those who turned out to be flops such as Teun Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz. Motta also allowed Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth to pick up center-back Dean Huijsen for €19.6 million (US$22.9m).
Huijsen slipped through the Juventus net
The Amsterdam-born ace, who only played one senior game for Juventus and 13 matches on loan at AS Roma, was subsequently sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid for €62.5 million (US$73m) and outwitted his former Turin team-mates in their Club World Cup showdown.
Other Juventus Next Gen graduates have been sold this summer, who were previously considered to be untouchable as they were deemed to be future stars for the Bianconeri.
Both Samuel Mbangula and Nicolo Savona were successfully promoted to the senior squad at the start of last season by Motta, with now both having been sold as part of Tudor’s cull.
Left winger Mbangula was snapped up by German outfit SV Werder Bremen for €10m (US$11.7m) on a five-year deal at the end of July.
Savona signs for Nottingham Forest
While center-back/full-back Savona has today signed for an undisclosed amount believed to be €15m (US$17.5m) with Nottingham Forest, despite having put pen to paper for a Juventus contract extension until 2030 in June.
Savona flew to England from Milan yesterday to undergo a medical with the Premier League club, He has passed although he is still nursing an ankle injury, sustained against Manchester City at the Club World Cup in late June.
The 22-year-old was not fit enough to compete in a Juve jersey since, missing all of the pre-season friendlies and last weekend’s Serie A opener against Parma.
Juventus have allowed their second head coach on the spin to be dismissive towards young talent that has been raised by the club, which is a U-turn from their previous hands off policy towards emerging stars.
Yildiz rescued Juve's season
Juventus Next Gen graduate Kenan Yildiz soon became a popular figure with Tudor, as the Turkish talent scored the only goal in a drab Serie A contest against Genoa to kick off Tudor’s initial tenure as interim head coach.
Yildiz had been hyped up by his agent Jorge Mendes as the world’s next soccer superstar at the beginning of the year, which at the time weighed down on the youngster’s shoulders and saw his form dip.
With a €100m (US$117m) price tag slapped on Yildiz, and plenty of clubs interested, Juventus would have happily accepted any concrete offers. Instead Tudor helped Yildiz get his groove back and he is arguably now Juve’s most prized asset.
Juventus will no longer wish to sell Yildiz, who offered himself to Barcelona during the summer because of all the transfer mayhem at the Bianconeri.
Ballon d'Or recognition for Juventus graduates
Yildiz and his former Juventus Next Gen team-mate Huijsen have been nominated for the prestigious Kopa Trophy, which is the U21 version of the Ballon d’Or.
With Savona the latest Juventus Next Gen to be sold for a low price, it will be no surprise if the Bianconeri are not kicking themselves for allowing both Mbangula and Savona to be sold.
The club will have only themselves to blame, having let Huijsen slip through the net and almost allowing Yildiz to follow suit. Maybe finding a manager who is not offered such carte blanche with respect to transfer transactions is the answer to Juve keeping their best players.