The management of Juventus has been very disappointed with the elimination of Porto in the round of 16 of the Champions League and will try to build a new team around the backbone of young players who are now in the club. This is what the respected journalist Fabrizio Romano claims. According to him, the Bianconeri will build their team for the future around Weston McKennie, Federico Chiesa, Matthijs de Ligt and Wojciech Szczesny.
The future of the team’s goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo is uncertain. The 36-year-old Portuguese has a contract until the summer of next year, but it is very likely that Juventus will try to sell him after the end of this season, mostly to get rid of his huge salary. For the first time since the 2004/05 season, neither Messi nor Ronaldo will play in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The two invariably reached this stage for 9 consecutive years between 2011 and 2019, but last season the series was interrupted due to the failure of Juve against Lyon in the round of 16. Now the same step has proved insurmountable for both the Bianconeri and Barca.
Ronaldo arrived at Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018. Since then, he has scored 92 goals in 121 games for the Turin giants. The Portuguese international came to the Allianz Stadium to bring the trophy from the Champions League, but for the second consecutive season the team was eliminated in the round of 16.
The options in attack after eventual departure of Ronaldo are in place. The 20-year-old Dejan Kulusevski joined Andrea Pirlo’s squad at the beginning of the season, and has been a regular feature in the starting formation. Kulusevski took advantage of the absence of several key players upfront, mainly Paulo Dybala, to earn playing time in a less conventional role. For more football betting news and recommendations, check out onlinecasinosnoop.com, leader in the segment. Originally a winger, the former Atalanta player was played as a second striker and is showing enough flashes of talent to keep the Bianconeri fans excited about his future development.
Last week Juventus officially announced that they had exercised their option to sign Weston McKennie outright from Schalke 04. The midfielder was a surprise signing over the summer transfer window, acquired on a loan with an option to buy. At the time he was considered a low-risk, potentially high-reward signing that would at the very least provide a valuable squad player. The American midfielder has been a joy to watch this season, showing his all-round ability to help out at both ends of the field, as well as showing his tactical awareness playing in various roles under Pirlo.
Federico Chiesa has become one of Andrea Pirlo’s most reliable players. He is a shining light in a storm of misery and opacity in Turin right now, and amid all the uncertainties, one thing is clear: If anyone is going to inspire this team to success in the near future, it’s the explosive winger. He is well on the way to producing double figures for both goals and assists this term, a feat that would represent an impressive return for his first season at Juventus.
Gianluigi Donnarumma approaches the end of his current contract and Juventus is one of the teams that want him. The Bianconeri has one of the best goalkeepers in Italy in Wojciech Szczesny, but reports say they want a first-rate player that will take over from the former Arsenal man. There are not that many top-class goalies that are available at the moment and they think signing Italy’s number one is an opportunity not to be missed. If Juve could not secure the deal Szczesny would be first choice for the foreseeable future.
At the center of the defense Matthijs de Ligt could be the new pillar for the next decade. The youngster has been further learning his trade alongside veteran centre-backs Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. De Ligt is thoroughly enjoying life in Turin and taking in the veteran defenders’ wealth of knowledge and experience. The Dutch centre-back arrived from Ajax in July 2019 and the 21-year-old said he he enjoys his time at the Allianz Stadium.
The Turin club will almost certainly be left by Welshman Aaron Ramsey. At this stage, the midfielder is not in the plans of head coach Andrea Pirlo and may be looking for a new team. The former Gunners star hasn’t really enjoyed his time at Juve so far, having struggled to play regularly and establish himself as a key player.
Pirlo himself has already received guarantees that he will stay next year, although the “Old Lady” is 10 points behind the leader in the ranking of Serie A Inter and out of the Champion League.
