And twas a good post, sir.
I know that there are people who feel as though he never should have left, but after two years of nonsense, sending him on co-own proved to be an excellent decision for the player's development. He really needed those guaranteed consistent minutes to work on his game, and reestablish his confidence.
A further bonus is that we didn't have another extra salary on the books for a player in the stands. Way too much of that going on in recent years.
And the funny thing is, I'm not a even a big fan of his.
He's a good player, a very good player on his day, but never, in my opinion a world class one.
And he is far from terrible or useless. Far, far, from it.
The point is, for juve to get him back, at what amounts to a net of 8 million, for a player of his quality and age, is a very good deal.
There was no way he was going to get significant minutes the past two seasons at juventus. Why, you may ask? because prior to these past two years, there was never any concrete evidence that he COULD play 90 minutes a game, week in, week out, and still maintain a level of consistency. Juve were coming off their first 7th place finish that season, and, in my opinion, hand the reigns to a then 23 year old player who had never been a consistent starter. There were desparate times, and those desperate times meant that there was no room for him on the squad back then.
And let's get something perfectly clear here. His first season at Parma was a good one. But it was not a GREAT one. 7 goals, 6 assists, as the primary souce of attack is decent, but not one that would have anyone remotely believe that he could literally double those numbers the following year, with less talent as well, it could be argued.
But that is EXACTLY what he did. This past season was the one that proved that he is ready to make a jump in quality.
And let's forget for a moment that he was originally Juve property a couple of years ago. Let's forget about that for a moment. Let's go under the assumption that this is the first time that gio would be at Juve. Ask yourself this question.
Would a 25 year old forward with 15 goals and 11 assists who was the main catalyst in Parma reaching 8th place, be worth 11 million?
You're damn right it would be. Absolutely.