Things are heating up in the transfer market with less than two months remaining until the January transfer window opens. For a Juventus team that is flying high both domestically and in Europe, one might think there’s not much need to take part in this crazy period. However, staying still is never good in football and the Old Lady has always been relentlessly striving to improve themselves. Last Word on Football looks at a January transfer wishlist for Juventus.
The January 2019 Juventus Transfer Wishlist
Juvenuts signed arguably the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer and they have some world class players already in their side. They currently lead the Serie A table by 6 points and are also top of their group in the Champions League. One might wonder if they really need to sign any more players this winter. However, history suggests that Juventus are constantly on the look-out for more ways to improve their team and solidify their place as the best team in Italy. They also are seriously trying to win the Champions League this season.
The Pogba Situation
Paul Labile Pogba came to Manchester United from Juventus in 2016 for a then-record for highest football transfer fee €105 M. It was a huge thing for Man Utd to sign their old player back. It was massively popular with the fans as well with the hashtag #pogback trending. However, even though Pogba won the world cup with France this year and have played really well for the national team but his form for his club side has not always been up to the mark. The world cup winner has been in the news quite frequently for off-the-field reasons as well. There was a video doing the rounds where Mourinho said something to him during training which seemed to really shock a previously smiling Pogba. He was also stripped off the vice-captaincy recently.
As luck would have it, Man Utd were paired with Juve in the Champions League. The Red Devils got a crucial win in Turin. While Mourinho was taunting the Juve fans, Pogba was seen shaking hands with the Juve Ultras in the Curva Sud. Apparently, he told one of them that he wished to return to Juve. Could it really happen? According to reports, Juventus will return for Man United midfielder Paul Pogba in January. They will apparently offer a choice of 3 players to United in exchange for the world cup winner. Definitely, United could do with a top defender from Juve. Medhi Benatia could be a good option as a makeweight for the Pogba deal. Other reports suggest Pogba is happy in Manchester though. So, it would be almost impossible to predict what will happen but it would be quite sensational if Pogba does go back to Turin.
James to make Juve unstoppable?
James Rodriguez, currently on loan at Bayern Munich from Real Madrid has fallen out of favour with Niko Kovac. It is not certain how Real are assessing this situation with Solari taking charge only recently. Juventus are apparently interested in bringing the Colombian to Turin according to Calciomercato. He could provide an intriguing option to the Juve attack that already boasts of the likes of Ronaldo, Dybala, Mandžukić, Bernardeschi, Cuadrado and Douglas Costa. Despite having all these players, one could make a case for James as he is a really creative player and could potentially link up and create a devastating partnership with CR7. However, will this create a problem for Dybala?
Possible Departures
The one most likely to leave this January is Daniele Rugani. The 24-year-old has been strongly linked with Chelsea and also Arsenal. A picture of him with his girlfriend Michela Persico holding a Learn English book has been doing the rounds. Chelsea might look to offload Gary Cahill and the young Italian defender could be just the man to replace him. With playing minutes hard to come by, Rugani has grown frustrated with life at Juve so this could be a possible transfer.
Medhi Benatia is another possible departure. The Moroccan has been linked with Milan and Man Utd. With Bonucci returning, Benatia has become a backup player and could look to move to become a regular starter elsewhere. He could be a decent purchase for United as Mourinho looks to bolster his defence.
Current Needs
If Rugani and Benatia leave, Juve will need some replacements and they have apparently lined up Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic and Sampdoria’s Joachim Andersen. They are both quite capable defenders and should provide adequate backup.
Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt is also another option but maybe not for January. Next summer is more likely for him.
Planning for the Future
‘The New Pirlo’, Sandro Tonali is a big target for a lot of clubs including Juventus. The 18-year-old Brescia midfielder is set to make his debut this week for Italy.
The English sensation Jadon Sancho has taken the Bundesliga by storm this season and has attracted the eyes of a lot of clubs. He has scored 5 goals and bagged 7 assists for Dortmund and apparently, Juve have earmarked him as the heir to Ronaldo and want him to learn from CR7.
Italy starlets Federico Chiesa and Nicolo Barella are also targets for the Old Lady. It won’t be easy to prise away Chiesa from Fiorentina as Chelsea are also admirers of the youngster. However, he might decide to stay in Italy rather than go to England which might tip the balance for Juve.
Nicolo Barella has caught the eyes of many teams as well with Spurs being linked with the Cagliari midfielder. Juve might need some cover with Emre Can and Sami Khedira regularly spending time on the treatment table.
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