Short-Term Solutions Not the Answer for Juventus Midfield Ahead of New Season

With the transfer window entering its final month, it feels like Juventus conducted the majority of their summer business so long ago. Bringing Paulo Dybala, Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic to the club, the Bianconeri also secured deals for a raft of other players as they look to build on last year’s success.

That the acquisitions of Daniele Rugani, Neto and Simone Zaza—as well as the permanent signing of Roberto Pereyra—came before some extremely high-profile exits appears to have compounded the issue. Questions over how the Turin giants will cope without Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez continue to be asked, and seeing Khedira stretchered off the field this past weekend only added to those doubts.

Talk of potential additions was to be found across the front pages of Monday’s newspapers on the peninsula, with Tuttosport boldly discussing a move for Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano (h/t Forza Italian Football).

Given the transfer ban currently imposed on the Catalan giants—not to mention the Argentinian’s prominent role in the side—makes such a switch highly unlikely, but news later the same day would perhaps reinforce the belief Juventus did indeed need to add another midfielder.

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A note on the club’s official website revealed that Khedira will now be out of action for approximately two months after tests showed a second-grade tear of a muscle in his right thigh.

That was followed up by an interview with director general Beppe Marotta, who told Quotidiano Sportivo (h/t Football Italia) that he was looking for a player “in the context of a very eclectic midfield which includes [Paul] Pogba, [Claudio] Marchisio, Khedira and Pereyra.”

The official went on to say that two widely reported targets in Real Madrid’s Isco and Oscar of Chelsea “will never sign” for Juventus, leading to yet more speculation from the Italian press.

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Both RAI and Sportmediaset believe the club had cooled interest in Schalke star Julian Draxler, the former touting Samir Nasri as an alternative (h/t Forza Italian Football) while the latter reported renewed attempts to lure Mario Gotze away from Bayern Munich (h/t Football Italia).

Again, either of that duo seems an unlikely target, with the tactics of Massimiliano Allegri offering the most telling insight into what may happen. As the coach discussed with La Gazzetta dello Sport last season (h/t Football Italia), his preferred formation is perhaps best described as “4-3 and then we’ll see.”

In 2014/15 he regularly fielded Vidal as his most advanced midfield player, using his disruptive presence to quickly transition from defence to attack, following a similar plan at his former club Milan. With the Rossoneri, Allegri deployed Kevin-Prince Boateng in that role with similar instructions, and there is no indication that the 47-year-old will change his approach in the forthcoming campaign.

Indeed, fielding a specialist playmaker is almost the exact opposite of what the Livorno native has done throughout his career, which perhaps returns Draxler to the top of that list of potential candidates.

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Alternatively, Allegri might opt to push Pogba or Marchisio into such a role, introducing Stefano Sturaro behind them to plug the gap. Entrusted with a starting berth in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, the 22-year-old did not disappoint, and, as discussed here, he is clearly ready to make a larger contribution this time around.

Pereyra too can be expected to deliver even higher quality performances in 2015/16; his impressive first year in Turin seeing him earn a place in the Argentina squad that finished as runners-up in this summer’s Copa America.

Simone Padoin is ultra-reliable and Kwadwo Asamoah will return from injury, while Allegri also holds 17-year-old Mattia Vitale in high regard, meaning that—with more than two weeks before their first Serie A fixture—Juventus are not short of long-term options in that area.

Marotta may yet deliver a star name, but there must be an understanding that short-term midfield solutions are not the answer given the makeup of the squad.