The transfer window shut without Juventus signing a big name player but, as Luca Persico points out, there is no need to panic.
“Superiority complex, Juve close the transfer window without a big signing.” The headline on the front of Tuesday’s Tuttosport painted a slightly melodramatic portrait of their mercato. Links to Radamel Falcao, Javier Hernandez and Xherdan Shaqiri had been prominent throughout the window, yet none arrived.
Perhaps, the closest Juve came to securing a ‘big signing’ was with their pursuit of Juan Manuel Iturbe, but the youngster was snatched by Roma amongst the confusion that surrounded Antonio Conte’s departure.
Every summer, fans and media alike expect at least one big purchase, regardless of whether there is a need for one. Given the financial climate in Italy, such a desire does not always come to fruition. Juventus have the capability to attract big names and pay for them - to a point - but they are not able to pinpoint players and compete with the biggest clubs in England, Germany and Spain for their signatures.
Instead, they have to wait for opportunities - an unhappy player, one with a contract expiring or perhaps someone who is being under-appreciated. When these scenarios occur, Giuseppe Marotta has been able to strike and in the past three years the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and Fernando Llorente have been snapped up.
This summer, that type of player was not available. Only Falcao and Hernandez really fall into the categories mentioned above - hence Marotta’s interest - but the astronomical sums that Manchester United have agreed to fork out for the former surpass most team’s budgets, let alone Juve’s, while Hernandez was snared by Real Madrid.
With the ‘big signings’ out of reach, Marotta instead has worked sensibly in the market. His most prominent work this summer has been to keep Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba at the club. By retaining these two players, Juventus will as worst be as strong on the pitch as they were last season, even if the new arrivals don't work out.
Certainly, Marotta may have been tempted to cash in on Vidal. With his recent knee injury and accelerated return to make the World Cup, there could be repercussions this term, while by playing the market and selling one star player to bring in another one, or perhaps two, he may have been able to strengthen other areas.
Given risk, Marotta neglected this path and instead adjusted two parts of the playing staff: squad players and youth. In the latter group, there is Kingsley Coman, who was signed on a free from Paris Saint-Germain and debuted impressively against Chievo, Stefano Sturaro - loaned back to Genoa - and Alvaro Morata.
The Spaniard is arguably Juventus’s biggest purchase of the summer. Starting the new season injured is not ideal, but he has the skill set to be a foil for both Tevez or Llorente and, if all goes well, will either be a star for the Old Lady, or make a notable profit if Real Madrid exercise their buyout clause.
In terms of squad players, Patrice Evra, Romulo and Roberto Pereyra are the notable arrivals. Evra is an upgrade on Federico Peluso, experienced and allows Allegri to use a back four, while Romulo’s versatility and physical attributes will ensure that he quickly becomes valuable.
If Morata is perhaps Marotta’s biggest gamble, then Pereyra is his punt. The Argentine is versatile, tricky and has potential to blossom. If he does, Juventus may just get the star they are looking for, but if not, he can head back to Udinese in 12 months at an outlay of just €1.5m.
Marotta may not have noticeably improved Juventus, but he has consolidated. With the key elements of last season in place, at worst the squad will not have been weakened. The lack of a significant outlay - net spend is around €13m - means he will be free to move in January if an opportunity arises, while the current group remains strong, but refreshed.
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