Juventus rebuilds under Allegri and decides how to work without De Ligt and Pogba
Juventus decided this summer to change the main roster under Massimiliano Allegri. The coach returned to Turin last summer, but last season can rather be called a transitional season – the team did not win anything, which is unusual for the “Old Lady”. Allegri himself experimented with formations and finished the season with a 3-5-2 against Fiorentina. With the new players we can try to get back to the soccer which is habitual for Massimiliano.
Pogba and Di Maria are needed to add in attacking creativity – Paul dropped out almost immediately
The signing of Pogba and Di Maria as free agents was quickly overshadowed by an injury to the Frenchman during training. Meniscus injury became known only recently, the latest news is not happy – the recovery could take up to two months, may require surgery. On it Paul, according to sources, does not agree, and the rehabilitation period may now stretch to the beginning of 2023. So Juve have probably lost a major option when playing in attack in the upcoming season.
The French midfielder played an important role at Juventus Allegri before his departure to Manchester United – playing in the rhombus in the 4-3-1-2 formation with which Juventus went through the 2014/2015 season. In this formation, he appeared on the right or left flanks and was attack-oriented. The Italian big man then switched to 3-5-2 in the 2015/2016 campaign, when Pogba had his best season in Italy. There is reason to believe that now the coach of the Turin side would try to build something similar – after a friendly match Massimiliano said that Paul would become a symbol of the team.
Di Maria has also noted the Frenchman’s influence on the Turin players’ game:
“This match is very useful to start the preparation at this early stage of the season. Pogba is one of the strongest players in the world and he attaches great importance to midfield”
For Allegri’s soccer, the selection of performers is an important factor – depending on their qualities, soccer will either be mechanical and athletic or creative and varied. The Bianconeri’s second scenario used to be provided by Pogba, Pirlo and Co. Now Paul had to weave laces together with Angel Di Maria – the Argentine has similar qualities, but prefers not to take on the role of first fiddle. Although after the Frenchman’s injury he will have no choice.
There have been exchanges of defenders – now there will be no de Ligt and Chiellini. Bremer, on the other hand, is here.
All last season Allegri was fielding someone from the trio of Chiellini-Bonucci de Ligt in the center of defense, and there was Daniele Rugani who came up less frequently. Two of the main three players left Juventus in the summer, with Matthijs’ departure for Bayern Munich being the main loss. Apparently, the Turin side’s stagnant success has had a big impact – the team is rebuilding, and the wait for trophies could drag on. The remaining Bonucci made it clear he was unhappy with De Ligt’s decision:
“I wasn’t surprised when de Ligt left for Bayern, because some of his statements made it clear that he didn’t want to stay at Juventus. But I think at the heart of everything is respect, our team he was in for three years helped him grow and Juventus invested in him”
Allegri has Rugani and Federico Gatti back from loan at the center of defense, in addition to Leonardo. It would have been completely unwise to start the season with such a selection of players, so the Turin side have managed to sign Bremer from Torino. The Brazilian is in his prime now – he may not be a full substitute for Mattijs, but he can fill the position of central defender. Bonucci will still be paired with him, and Gatti and Rugani are needed to deepen the squad.
Juve’s selection of players and the signing of Bremer is assessed positively by the coach himself:
“We have a young player like Gatti and we also have other young players that I still have to evaluate. I’m very happy with Bremer, a physically strong player with the characteristics we were looking for. There are not many defenders of this level, the club was very quickly able to replace de Ligt”
Juve lose Dibala and Morata – looking for a central striker
Juve were without Cristiano Ronaldo last summer when he decided to return to the club – Paulo Dibala is now a free agent and the loan spells of Chiesa and Morata are over.
With Pogba and Di Maria, the Bianconeri have partially made up for the problem with attacking potential, and Dusan Vlahovic came to Turin to play in the winter. Now Allegri are likely to give the 22-year-old Serbian a permanent place in the starting line-up.
Nevertheless, Torino are keen to get some insurance – it is reported that the Old Lady’s selectors are targeting Roberto Firmino, whose season was blighted by injury – as a result the Brazilian played 20 games for Liverpool in the APL 2021/22.
German midfielder Timo Werner is also confirmed as a future recruit by Chelsea. It is reported that the clubs have already entered negotiations – and so far there are questions about the idea of signing this player. First of all, it is unclear whether he will be able to return to his previous level – in Leipzig he showed himself extremely bright. This is compounded by Chelsea’s notoriety in terms of the success of the strikers they bought – together with Werner, Romelu Lukaku did not even play there at the second attempt (before that he rehabilitated himself at Inter). Before that there were Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge, Alvaro Morata, Michy Batshuayi.
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