The Juventus head coach has made an auspicious start in his maiden season at the campaign, and is under such scrutiny that former Barcelona boss Xavi has been involved in informal talks about Motta’s current job.
There’s been speculation about defender Andrea Cambiaso, midfielder Douglas Luiz and striker Dusan Vlahovic all being on their way out during the current transfer window.
The trio are all being considered by top English Premier League (EPL) clubs. Manchester City lead the chase for Cambiaso and Luiz, while Arsenal and Chelsea have been monitoring Vlahovic for some considerable time.
Cambiaso is suffering from an ankle injury, so is unavailable for Juve’s final Champions League first phase game tonight when Portuguese giants Benfica visit the Allianz Stadium.
The 24-year-old played against table topping Napoli at the weekend, only for his ankle problem to resurface during the Bianconeri’s first Serie A defeat this term.
Motta, at the Champions League pre-match press conference, clarified the situation with Cambiaso: “He will not be available. He still has some problems with his ankle and at the moment he does not feel 100%, he preferred to take some time to heal everything.”
Those words will no doubt be a big concern for potential suitors Manchester City, who will be apprehensive about bringing in any injury-prone players.
Pep Guardiola’s City are also keen on Luiz, a summer signing from Aston Villa. He’s been a bit player under Motta although the 42-year-old claims that the Brazilian has had to deal with multiple injuries since October. Yet Motta was enthusiastic about Luiz during the press conference and said that the creative midfielder deserves to play in this latest Champions League tie.
Vlahovic, heavily linked to sign for Arsenal and Chelsea during the transfer window, has been on the bench for the past three games. While fans and pundits saw this as the Serbian international being pushed out by the head coach, Motta has claimed that his top-scorer this term had fitness issues.
Motta recently signed forward Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, with a Vlahovic exit seemingly on the cards. There’s been no concrete offers tabled, and ironically Arsenal were offered Muani during the January transfer window.
About Vlahovic, Motta was upbeat at the press conference and said: “Dusan is fine [from fitness issues]. We will see if he will play from the start or during the match.
“In the Champions League [this term] he has already scored four goals, he is part of the group and is fine. As a team we have our way of playing, we want to cause problems for the opponent with quality.
“Dusan has played a lot so far [for Juvenus], even when he wasn’t at his best. He has done it, and will continue to do so.”
This comment that Vlahovic will continue to play for Juve, on top of Motta suddenly being a fervour fan of Luiz appears to be a U-turn about players that are pivotal to the club’s future success.
With Cambiaso also in the mix for Motta to potentially lose before the 3 February transfer deadline, the head coach appears to have relaxed his stance on making the trio exiles.
Motta may be a draw expert, but his downfall will be if he continues this record of stalemates rather than starting to win games.
The club has only picked up one victory in their past five Champions League matches, which leaves them languishing in 17th spot but with a guaranteed playoff spot.
Juventus have a fantastic chance to get back to winning ways when they tackle Benfica, thanks to this renewed confidence in key players from Motta.