Juventus will face somewhat of a transitional season in 2015/2016. After reaching the Champions League final, winning a fourth consecutive scudetto and a tenth Coppa Italia the past season, several important players have left and many new ones arrive that will have to settle and find their place in the team.
The Departures
Juventus suffered more big departures than in any other summer since 2006, particularly three players that were very important for this team: Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tévez. The first two were crucial in bringing Juventus back from the ashes four years ago.
They both arrived at the club with Antonio Conte after the club had finished in 7th place in back to back seasons and had gone trophyless for five years. Juventus nearly went the whole season unbeaten as they won the scudetto and started a domination in Italy that doesn’t seem to have a genuine threat yet.
Tévez arrived two seasons ago and gave the attack the jump in quality it needed and was crucial in making Juventus a contender in Europe again. He scored many important goals in the Bianconeri’s run to the Champions League last season, including those against Borussia Dortmund in both legs and the winning goal against Real Madrid at the Juventus Stadium.
The bright side for Juventus is that Pirlo’s influence was fading in the pitch, and wasn’t going to be a starter more likely next season had he stayed (which is probably one of the reasons he decided to leave). Also Arturo Vidal had his worst season wearing black and white in 2014/2015, and despite these factors Juventus had their best season since at least 2003, so with the right replacements the team won’t suffer their absence as much as it could be feared initially.
The Arrivals
The average age of the team was one of the main concerns in the past couple of seasons, with many vital players around their mid-30s. Such were the cases of Gianluigi Buffon (37 years old), Andrea Pirlo (36), Marco Storari (38), Andrea Barzagli (34) and Patrice Evra (34) among others. The management addressed this issue and focused on young signings.
Paulo Dybala was being targeted by some of the greatest clubs in Europe and chose Juventus as his next destination. The striker will be partnered in attack with Álvaro Morata, with both of them under the age of 22, it could be the answer for the Bianconeri upfront for many years. Simone Zaza also returned after a loan at Sassuolo, while Mario Manduzkic arrived from Atlético and will be the most experienced striker in the team after the departure of Tévez and most likely Fernando Llorente.
Daniele Rugani is also a player that will add some much needed young blood in the back. With Andrea Barzagli being close to retirement and Giorgio Chiellini having several injury troubles as of late it was crucial adding another quality centre back and the 21 year old is the answer. He spent the past two seasons on loan at Empoli and played every minute of last season without being booked once.
Siqueira is close to joining the Bianconeri as well, and while he’s 29 years old, he could solve the left back issue temporarily. Evra is the only one in that position in the squad and he has only one season left in his contract. Asamoah has played in the past in that position but has been without competitive action for almost a whole season.
In midfield Roberto Pereyra was fully acquired after a great spell on loan last season and will probably fight for a starting spot with another new signing, Sami Khedira. The pair will have a huge responsibility filling the void left by Vidal and Pirlo that were instrumental in Juventus’ renaissance since 2011.
Pereyra’s versatility will be very important, as of now Juventus doesn’t have a trequartista so he may be placed behind the strikers with Khedira in midfield alongside Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio. The German’s injury troubles are a concern, and he has already been ruled out of the first two months of the season, so Stefano Sturaro will be replacing him in that position. The Italian had a very good first six months at Juventus and will now have more chances to fight for a starting place with Vidal and Pirlo gone.
What they need
Juventus is still active in the market, looking for a left back and an attacking midfielder. With the Siqueira deal almost done, only the latter is missing to complete the squad. Two Germans are the ones that have been heavily linked to the club this summer.
Julian Draxler and Mario Gotze (Oscar and Isco were linked too, but were ruled out because of their price tag). The Schalke 04 player has already reached an agreement with the club, but Schalke want €30M while Juventus are willing to offer up to €20M.
It could be a crucial signing for the Bianconeri as he’s exactly the type of player they need to link the midfield and the attack and would hugely boost the team creatively. He has pace, dribbling, vision, a great shot and can use both feet almost equally as good.
He has a lot of experience despite his age, having played with Schalke in the Champions League (was very impressive against Chelsea) and even being part of the German squad that won the World Cup in 2014, where he featured in the memorable 7-1 victory against Brazil.
The only downside could be that he missed many games lately, due to two serious injuries that sidelined him for most of the past season, so logically his fitness is a concern. Nonetheless, it’s a risk worth taking given his huge potential and the fact he never had injury troubles the previous seasons.
Expectation
Juventus started this season where they left the previous one: Winning. The victory over Lazio in Shangai gave the Turin giants their seventh Supercoppa de Italia title, a record for the competition. A very promising sign is that both goals were scored by two new signings, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic. How the attack would work was one of the main concerns, given the departure of Tévez and the injury of Morata, but it obviously wasn’t a problem for the pair.
Many of the other Serie A teams made huge investments during this summer trying to put an end to Juventus' dominance. Milan and Inter spent a lot after a very poor season, which saw both clubs end outside Europa League qualification positions.
The Rossoneri bought the likes of Carlos Bacca, Adriano, Romagnoli among others and even Zlatan Ibrahimovic was linked to a return to the club where he played from 2010 to 2012. The Neroazzurri on the other hand added Kondogbia, Jovetic and kept their best players like Icardi and Handanovic despite big offers from abroad.
Roma, Lazio and Napoli also made some impressive signings this summer, so it’s likely that this season will be harder for Juventus compared to the past two where the title was almost decided by March. Nonetheless, they’re still heavy favorites for the title.
In the Champions League it will be very hard to repeat a season like the last one, with the team being younger, and many new players needing time to bend in. But the experience from last season will be important and it will be crucial for the team to consolidate themselves in Europe and reach at least the quarter finals.
Prediction:
-Serie A: Winners
-Champions League: Quarter finalists/Semi finalists.