Who Can Juventus Afford to Lose and Replace This Summer?

Juventus have been tipped to make profitable sales ever since they appointed Cristiano Giuntoli, presumably with the mandate of fixing their finances and making the club more sustainable. That hasn’t happened in previous windows, perhaps simply due to a shortage of offers or lack of time to come up with a cohesive strategy since he joined them fairly late.

The Two Possible Strategies

The Bianconeri have two ways to achieve their goal: cashing in on a few of their starlets, recoding significant and lawful ‘plusvalenze’ that would give them ammo to use on the market, or decisively reducing their payroll, whose effects would be more long-term. A combination of the two is on the table.

The Old Lady won’t suddenly turn into a supermarket, nor it should. It seems that nobody is truly untouchable, but the offers to lure them have to be really worthy. The bids might not flock as most of their players have arguably underperformed this season. It’ll be interesting to see whether they’ll panic midway through the summer and lower their request. Or perhaps they’ll be patient, make do with the budget at their disposal, and have a multi-year approach.

The Thorny Renewals

Juventus aren’t entirely in control of the future of a few staples because of a few uncertain contractual situations. Adrien Rabiot is the most glaring case. His deal expires in two months. Considering his entire body of work, he has had just a pair of superb seasons during his entire run in Turin. The present one isn’t among those. He’s worth keeping only if the money is right. He’s already one of the top-paid players on the squad. If he demands a raise, the officials should just leave the table.

The Bianconeri have been trying to dilute the rich wages of a few contributors. To no avail so far, even with the older ones, like Wojciech Szczesny, who’s perhaps the most likely. He’s still going strong, but there’s no shortage of goalkeepers on the rise who would fare similarly for a fraction of his salary. But something odd would have to happen for a team to table a decent proposal for an aging shot-stopper.

Among the other players whose contract runs out in 2025, the most urgent one is Federico Chiesa. His seasonal numbers will end up being only okay due to a second-half slump. Still, he’s more often than not their main driving force, sometimes really the only one. He’s dominant if he’s cooking. It’d be a pity to lose him after waiting for a long time for him to bounce back after his knee injury. He’d probably be more consistent and impactful with a new scheme. A tactical change is in the cards whether Massimiliano Allegri stays or not, TuttoSport informs.

The renewal of Weston McKennie has turned into a weird saga since the sums at stake shouldn’t be too problematic. Perhaps the management wants to see how much other teams value him before committing. Or perhaps assess their midfield as a whole first. He’s a nice piece, but upgrading wouldn’t be tough. Samuel Iling-Junior hasn’t really been given a fair chance to prove his worth, and 3-5-2 is rather constraining for him. He’d have the traits to be a solid super sub with a different formation. Moise Kean has spent more time on the infirmary than on the pitch in recent years. His permanence would be justified only if there’s no alternative.

The Young Juventus Loanees

The ‘plusvalenze’ route would be the easy one, as the profits would be guaranteed. Properly assessing and projecting the starlets’ value is easier said and done, though. If they switched to 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, it’d make little sense to sell Matias Soulé and then have to look for a player with similar traits. Enzo Barrenechea is less touted but has been very steady. Allegri dispatched him after a couple of appearances, but another coach might see him in a different light. If they have to buy three or four midfielders, they’ll struggle to replace them all with quality players. He’s not that young and might be close to a finished product already. Kaio Jorge has shown some flashes but was then outplayed by Walid Cheddira, not exactly Marco van Basten. He seems more of a second striker than the tip of the spear of a trident, and his touch in the box is paltry.

Dean Huijsen was tossed to the side by Roma after a few fiery performances, as they recovered some previously injured players and changed their type of defense. He might be more flash than substance, as he’s very cavalier with the ball on his feet. He might be the kind of defender that thrives as a braccetto that pushes forward but is always on the brink of making a blunder. Still, he’s super young and will get better the more he plays. His sacrifice for a big figure would be more understandable than Soulé’s.

It wouldn’t be shocking if unsuspected names came up as the window progressed. The Juventus higher-ups would have to decide whom they can properly substitute for without breaking the bank. For instance, Andrea Cambiaso will generate interest, but they have been searching for a good fullback for ages, and they are rare and expensive. Federico Gatti has been decent but hasn’t improved by leaps and bounds since joining.

The Juventus Stars Potentially at Risk

The call would be tricky if a deep-pocketed team came asking for two cornerstones, Gleison Bremer and Dusan Vlahovic. The former has a release clause that can be nullified for this summer but still pretty much sets his price tag. He has been by far their best center-back but hasn’t always risen to the occasion and shut down big-ticket strikers in crunch matches. Moreover, his fit in a four-man defense might not be ideal. They should think about it if the sums get to the level that would allow them to bring in a pair of studs.

That goes even more for the Serb even though it’s hard to make a big profit on them considering the large fees. They’d surely be in worse shape without him this season, but placing all the blame for his middling production on Allegri is a low-hanging fruit. He can bag tremendous goals thanks to his technique, but he left several easy ones on the table throughout the campaign. Juventus can’t be content with just okay with somebody they spent €90M for and will soon be the highest-paid player in the entire Serie A with a margin. No suitor came close to his valuation last summer, where he was in a worse spot after a year ruined by a sports hernia. That may change in the coming months. They could fit three pretty good players in his salary.