Why Fernando Llorente Is the Most Frustrating Player in the Juventus Squad

OK, that’s harsh.

Juventus have achieved incredible success over the last four seasons, and Fernando Llorente has played a major role in each triumph the club has enjoyed since his arrival in Turin in 2013. The Basque striker is widely admired, and there are ultimately some far more disappointing players in Massimiliano Allegri’s squad.

Take Angelo Ogbonna for example. The 27-year-old cost the Bianconeri €13 million back in July 2013, and while he was never expected to supplant the likes of Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini in the starting XI, he has also failed to become a reliable backup.

All too often, the Cassino native lacks the concentration necessary to become a defender at the highest level, and Juventus have begun to look for an alternative. According to TuttoSport, Premier League sides Everton, West Ham United and Southampton have expressed interest in Ogbonna (h/t Football Italia), and he may well leave this summer.

His issues were discussed in a previous column. Fellow defender Paolo De Ceglie is a similar source of frustration for Juve supporters. A product of the club’s youth system, he could provide cover for Patrice Evra at left-back, but given he turns 29 in September, he is no longer a promising talent for the future.

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De Ceglie has failed to impress in loan spells with Genoa and Parma, meaning the Bianconeri are once again short of options at his position, a problem they must address before 2015/16 gets underway. Another concerning figure is Martin Caceres, who—despite his obvious talent—cannot be relied upon to remain fit.

All of which brings us back to Llorente. He has none of the mental fragility of Ogbonna, he hasn’t failed to deliver on his potential like De Ceglie and is certainly more durable than Caceres, yet he could still prove to be the team’s most frustrating figure this summer.

He is clearly a positive influence within the squad, with a number of his team-mates regularly singling him out for praise. Compatriot Alvaro Morata has perhaps been the most vocal, telling Marca (h/t Football Italia) that Llorente “has helped me in everything and taken care of me.”

When Paulo Dybala arrived in Turin for his medical, it was Llorente who was there to meet him (see above picture), and those qualities will be even more important next season. Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez have moved on, while key dressing-room figures Marco Storari and Simone Pepe have also been allowed to leave.

That leaves Juventus in need of veteran experience, but—as the graphic below shows—in Llorente’s case, the cost of that is simply too high. Only two players earn more than the former Athletic Club star, who could find himself in an even more reduced role as a result of the increased competition in attack.

As well as Dybala, Mario Mandzukic has arrived, while Allegri’s interview with Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia) in June indicated he expected Simone Zaza to be added to the squad during the summer transfer window. The Sassuolo striker is a similar player to Llorente, and he bagged nine league goals in 2014/15, two more than the Juventus man.

Llorente certainly dipped in form last year, netting just nine times in all competitions, a number half the total he managed in his debut campaign on the peninsula. According to statistics from Squawka, he hit the target with just 47 per cent of his shots, down from an impressive 64 per cent the previous season.

A well-liked and influential figure, Llorente will need to once again score with regularity to justify his salary and avoid becoming a figure of frustration for Juventus.