Juventus: Early Grades for the Bianconeri's Summer Transfer Acquisitions
Fans were expecting a splash from Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta this year. The front-office chief had revitalized the Bianconeri largely with bargain buys and an amazing aptitude for free signings, but the team's European campaign in 2013-14 was largely considered a failure.
The expectation was that Marotta would finally go for broke with a big-name signing that would make Juve more competitive in the Champions League.
Unfortunately, those plans fell through. Top target Alexis Sanchez wanted to come to Turin but eventually chose Arsenal, largely because the London club could pay him wages Juve simply couldn't afford.
The team's alternative target, Juan Manuel Iturbe, looked almost certain to arrive at Juve before the turmoil of Antonio Conte's resignation saw him slip through Marotta's fingers and end up with title rivals Roma.
The team's disappointed supporters ended up watching the Bianconeri bring in a group of players that was solid but not necessarily spectacular.
Those players have, as a whole, managed to give the three-time defending champions some much-needed depth and even more badly needed tactical diversity. It's a solid group that could grow up to help the Bianconeri in a major way in the future.
How well did Marotta navigate the summer window during the post-Conte storm?
Let's look at Juve's signings and see how well they've done in the first three months of the season. Players will be given grades both for their immediate contributions and for their long-term prognoses.
Romulo
1 of 5
Arrived From: Hellas Verona
Fee: €1 million for initial loan, €6 million permanent option at end of season.
Romulo hasn't been able to make too much of an impact this season, but that isn't necessarily his fault.
A midfielder who can operate on the center and the left, his first two appearances of the season were as a late-game sub to spell Stephan Lichtsteiner as the right wing-back. Shortly after his first league game against AC Milan, he was sidelined by a sports hernia.
That injury kept him out until Juve's 7-0 demolition of Parma. He played all 90 minutes of that fixture and according to WhoScored.com completed 92.3 percent of his passes and a pair of dribbles.
Romulo was fantastic as a facilitator at Hellas a year ago, clocking in at six goals and eight assists. His ability to pick apart defenses from the midfield is reminiscent of the old-school regista. He could be employed in that role to spell Andrea Pirlo or in a more advanced role in Massimiliano Allegri's new 4-3-1-2/4-3-2-1 system to more directly connect with the forwards.
His role is going to be primarily as a depth guy, and he will be a quality piece in that role. His contribution so far has been severely curtailed by his injury, but going forward he's going to be a good cog in the machine.
Immediate Grade: Incomplete
Long-term Grade: B/B+
Patrice Evra
2 of 5
Arrived From: Manchester United
Fee: €1.2 million
One of the biggest weaknesses of Conte's Juventus was their lack of a true left-back. Paolo De Ceglie's promising career fizzled out after a serious knee injury several years ago, and Conte apparently never rated Swiss international Reto Ziegler, who was signed before Conte joined the club.
This hole was one of the main reasons Conte eventually switched to a 3-5-2 and one of the biggest reasons he held on to it for so long. Giorgio Chiellini and Angelo Ogbonna can fill in on the left in a pinch, but at this point in their careers neither one is a long-term option as a full-back.
Patrice Evra was signed this season to fill that gap—at least temporarily. The 33-year-old was never going to be a big-picture solution on the left flank but rather a stopgap to fill the role until the team either buys a top-level left-back on the market or brings up a promising youngster from their youth sector.
Evra adapted well to the wing-back role in the 3-5-2 Allegri carried over in the early parts of the season, but he was laid up with a muscle injury when the coach shifted to a formation that would allow him to play his natural position.
In the time he spelled Kwadwo Asamoah on the wing he played extraordinarily well. According to WhoScored, he averaged 2.3 key passes in six starts between Serie A and the Champions League, including an assist in the team's 3-0 thrashing of Atalanta.
Defensively, he has pitched in with two tackles and 1.9 interceptions. When he comes back from his injury, he could do even better in the role he has been familiar with for his entire career.
Evra is a stopgap, but if he keeps up his form when he regains his fitness he will be a very good stopgap. This was a good signing that allows Juve tactical flexibility and gives them a veteran leader with experience in the deep stages of the Champions League.
Immediate Grade: B+
Long-term Grade: B
Roberto Pereyra
3 of 5
Arrived From: Udinese
Fee: €1.5 million for initial loan, permanent option at the end of the season worth between €14 and €15.5 million
Roberto Pereyra was a Juve target from the moment the '13-14 season ended. Given the team's good relationship with Udinese—they have acquired Mauricio Isla and Kwadwo Asamoah from the Friuli outfit in the past few years—there was little doubt about where the player would end up.
Pereyra played well enough in Udine to attract high praise from the high king of Friuli football, Antonio Di Natale, who told reporters after the deal went through that he was confident Pereyra would be successful.
So far he's shown the promise to do just that. At the beginning of the season he provided valuable quality in the midfield in the absence of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal. He has also deputized at right wing-back and has been deployed in the advanced midfield twice in the league since Allegri switched to a 4-3-1-2.
He has brought quality in every single role. He's notched a pair of assists so far—including a beauty in traffic against Lazio on Saturday—and WhoScored has clocked his pass-completion rate at 85.7 percent in all competition.
Even more tantalizing than the promise he's already showing is his ability to play the wing if Allegri elects to use a setup with true wingers. Given that Juve has one of Italy's great young attacking talents in Domenico Berardi poised to enter the setup within the next year or two, that change may happen soon, and Pereyra will prove a quality player in that area.
There's no question that Pereyra's option will be picked up at the end of the season. He will continue to contribute in a supporting role for now but has all the ability to be a key player in the Juve setup if he's presented with the chance.
Immediate Grade: B+
Long-term Grade: A-
Kingsley Coman
4 of 5
Arrived From: Paris Saint-Germain
Fee: Free transfer
Whatever black magic Giuseppe Marotta performs to repeatedly find key contributors on free transfers is still working.
Over the last four summers, the list of Beppe's Bosmans has been impressive and impactful. The first was Andrea Pirlo, who only resurrected his career and turned in some of the best performances in helping Juve to all three of their titles.
The next season's signing was Paul Pogba. Pogba quickly established his potential—and his vicious long-range shot—and has developed into a future Ballon d'Or candidate.
Last year, Fernando Llorente overcame a slow start to score 16 goals and combined with Carlos Tevez to form the best forward tandem the team has seen since the heyday of Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet.
This year's edition of Beppe's Bosmans brought in young Kingsley Coman. The parallels between the 19-year-old and his French compatriot Pogba are striking. Both left big-money clubs after not seeing a path from the youth system to the starting lineup. Both arrived after being promised the chance to shine in Turin.
So far, Coman has been stellar. A minor injury to Llorente saw him start up front with Tevez in the opener against Chievo Verona, and he was the best Juve player on the field. He was denied once or twice by Francesco Bardi and blazed a stunner of a shot a hair's breadth over the bar. In 68 minutes, Juve fans were salivating over his future with the club.
Coman played in the midfield in PSG's youth setup, but at Juve it looks like he's going to slot in as a trequartista/seconda punta hybrid—a role to which that maiden performance suggested he is well-suited.
Coman has yet to play more than 30 minutes in a game since that stellar debut. The Bianconeri have suggested that they'll bring the youngster along slowly, much the way they did with Pogba two years ago. But among the five players that arrived in Turin this summer, Coman may have the biggest impact on the team long-term.
Immediate Grade: B+
Long-term Grade: A
Alvaro Morata
5 of 5
Arrived From: Real Madrid
Fee: €20 million. Real Madrid has buyback options in 2015-16 and '16-17 for a maximum of €30 million.
The signing of Alvaro Morata was a win-win for Juventus.
The 22-year-old was never able to get consistent playing time at Real Madrid, and the Bianconeri have already given him more of a chance to prove himself.
According to WhoScored, Morata has played 236 minutes in Serie A for Juve—nearly half the playing time he got all season in La Liga last year at the Bernabeu. He's even received more time in the Champions League—in four European games he has only 14 fewer minutes than he had in five appearances for last year's European Champions.
He's scored four times this season—already half his La Liga total from a year ago—including a stunning left-footed effort against Empoli—and has begun to develop good chemistry with Tevez when they've started together.
Morata is one of the most promising attacking talents in the world. He won the Golden Boot at the 2013 Under-21 European Championships despite starting only two of the five matches. Three of his four goals came with less than eight minutes on the clock—including two match-winners.
This is a player with a natural nose for goal and the mental fortitude to take his chances at crunch time in big tournaments. It's no wonder that Real was unwilling to part with him without keeping a stake in his future. The Spanish giants can buy him back after next season and the season after that. The fee will be dictated by on-field play, with a maximum of €30 million.
One way or the other, Morata will benefit Juventus. If he stays beyond his buyback clause, the Bianconeri will have a player who could turn into one of the world's top strikers leading their line. If Madrid buy him back, the team will be as much as €10 million richer than when they started.
Morata's immediate grade is hurt slightly because he still hasn't fully pipped Fernando Llorente as a full-time starter, but that could change in an instant. One way or another, he will be a solid investment for Juve and probably their best move of the window.
Immediate Grade: B
Long-term Grade: A
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
