Roberto Pereyra Defying His Critics and Proving He Belongs at Juventus

This past summer saw Juventus once again linked with a plethora of quality attacking talent, with reported interest in the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Xherdan Shaqiri (h/t Sky Sports). Perhaps the strongest rumours centred around Juan Manuel Iturbe, the Hellas Verona winger who eventually moved to Roma.

Director general Beppe Marotta admitted to Sky Italia that the club missed out because their rivals “had more disposable income at the time,” per Football Italia. Having missed out on those high-profile targets, the Bianconeri would eventually bring in Roberto Pereyra on loan from Udinese.

The club’s official website revealed they had paid a fee of €1.5 million, with an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season for a further sum of €14 million. That total appeared high for a player who had netted eight goals in 74 appearances for the Friulian side, seemingly a versatile but underwhelming addition to Massimiliano Allegri’s squad.

Writing here on Bleacher Report in July, I concluded that Pereyra was “good, but perhaps not good enough for Juventus,” and I questioned the impact he would have in Turin. After seeing him represent the Bianconeri over the intervening six months, there can only be one conclusion drawn from his performances:

I was wrong.

Pereyra has shown that not only is he a versatile and dependable squad player, but that he can also make a telling contribution in the most difficult of circumstances. With Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal struggling with injuries, his first few games came in central midfield, providing solid cover in some steady but unspectacular performances.

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He would notch his first assist in the 3-0 win over Atalanta, Alvaro Morata heading home his cross for the final goal of the game. The 23-year-old also filled in as a wing-back, stepping in to allow Stephan Lichtsteiner to take a breather with neither Martin Caceres nor Romulo available to deputise.

Then came Allegri’s formation change, the 4-3-2-1 getting its first outing since pre-season as the coach decided that it was time to shift away from the three-man defence. Pereyra was selected to start alongside Carlos Tevez in the next two matches, with the two Argentinians playing just behind Fernando Llorente in the new system.

La Madama flourished, emphatically beating Parma 7-0 before travelling to Rome and defeating Lazio by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline. While Paul Pogba and Tevez received much of the praise, Pereyra was equally impressive, providing a valuable link between midfield and attack, turning in two excellent performances.

The Lazio match was arguably his best display for the Turin giants, his neat turn and perfectly weighted through ball creating the third goal for Pogba. He also made two tackles, one interception and completed 85.3 per cent of his passes (29 of 34) according to statistics website WhoScored.com.

The above graphic—courtesy of the FourFourTwo Stats Zone app—also shows that he completed four of his six take-ons, and was fouled no fewer than six times. The opposing defence simply had no answer for his running on-the-ball, a skill possessed by very few of his team-mates at Juventus.

Those attributes were singled out for praise by Allegri following the Lazio match, the coach noting to reporters that “Roberto’s got great technique and an important quality; he always drives towards goal with great intensity,” per the official club website. It is clear the formation change has helped Pereyra, the 23-year-old relishing the opportunity to play higher up the pitch and his level of play has clearly risen accordingly.

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While Pereyra has since returned to the bench—making brief cameos against Malmo and Torino—he has also played his way into Argentina coach Gerardo Martino’s plans. Already with four caps since his October debut, he knows he must keep performing well for Juventus if he is to remain a part of the Albiceleste setup.

“I didn’t expect to be called up with Argentina, maybe I expected it later,” he told Juventus TV last month (h/t Football Italia). “But I am happy and proud about the news and I only have to keep doing well.”

If he continues to play at such a high standard, I had clearly misjudged the impact he would have but Antonio Di Natale offered an alternative view. “They are different players,” he told TuttoSport just after his former team-mate moved to Turin (h/t FourFourTwo). “But I am convinced that Pereyra will explode at Juve just as [Alexis] Sanchez did at Barcelona.”

So far, the Udinese captain looks to have made a much more astute analysis and Roberto Pereyra has shown he is indeed good enough for Juventus.