It has been a tricky transfer window at Juventus, the total opposite of last summer when Thiago Motta went on a spending spree, which must be worrying for head coach Igor Tudor and the club’s fans.
With so many players on the club’s transfer list having recently resumed training, the Bianconeri are in a real conundrum ahead of the forthcoming Serie A campaign.
There is a small transfer kitty on top of finances following their labored FIFA Club World Cup campaign.
Juve's midfield needs an overhaul
A solid midfielder is a position that the club must bolster in order to be competitive in the Champions League. Although Sporting Lisbon’s Morten Hujland and Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho deals are gaining momentum, a new face has been linked with Juventus.
Southampton suffered an horrendous Premier League campaign, with only a handful of players earning praise from pundits.
Versatile 21-year-old Mateus Fernandes was a shining star in the English top-flight, having joined the club from Sporting Lisbon for €8 million (US$9.1m) last August.
The Portugal U21 ace impressed following 36 Premier League appearances, and with Southampton relegated there have been a plethora of admirers to snatch the ball-carrying central midfielder.
Long list of Fernandes admirers
His €30m (US$32.2m) price tag is currently too rich for the Bianconeri, yet his dynamic runs have also interested Atletico Madrid, Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.
There are a clutch of high-profile midfield options that are also unattainable for Juventus, such as Atalanta’s Ederson, Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali.
Fernandes, who can be implemented as an attacking midfielder, wishes to leave Southampton to compete in the top tier.
Unless there is a windfall from the potential sales of such players as Nicolas Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Dusan Vlahovic and Timothy Weah, then Juventus appear to be facing a tough time to become Scudetto contenders.
New players ideally need to be bedded in by the Turin titans ahead of their friendly in Germany against Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund on 10 August, This will Juve’s last warm-up match before they host Parma at the Allianz Stadium on 24 August.