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Juventus: 2023/24 season preview and transfer round-up

By mac14 on August 11, 2023

Juventus will be looking to get the club back on track after a turbulent time last season. They were slapped with a 15-point penalty mid-way through the last campaign which derailed their hopes of finishing in the top four. Juve appealed the decision and in the end of the penalty was reduced to nine points. It still saw the Turin giants miss out on Champions League qualification as they finished eight points behind fourth-placed AC Milan in seventh place. That should have been enough to see Juventus play in the Europa Conference League this season, however, they saw their European license revoked due to their financial failures and has to pay an £8m fine.

Therefore, Juventus have no European football to look forward to this season. Many will say they can now fully focus on trying to win the Serie A title and it may be an advantage not to have to play European midweek games. However, a club like Juventus should always be playing in elite European football so Max Allegri will be determined to get the club back on track. Demand for Juventus tickets is still extremely high, so fans are clearly backing the club to bounce back this season.

Duan Vlahovic was Juve’s highest scorer last season, despite having just 10 goals, so Allegri knows his main job is to get his team more clinical in front of goal. There should be confidence ahead of the new season as Juventus have impressed in pre-season. They beat AC Milan on penalties in a friendly during the US tour following a 2-2 draw. That was followed by an excellent 3-1 victory over Spanish giants Real Madrid with Moise Kean, Timothy Weak and Vlahovic all on the scoresheet.

The club has invested over £ 66 million on 4 players this summer, 3 of whom are familiar names at the Allianz Stadium. Locatelli, Milik, and Kean all completed their permanent moves to the club following initial loans, while Timothy Weah, son of the legendary George Weah, is the only significant new addition to Allegri’s squad after he joined from Lille in a £10m deal.

Juve will face Atalanta in another friendly tonight which will be their last pre-season friendly before their Serie A opener away to Udinese on August 20th. Allegri opted for a lighter pre-season schedule this year and he hopes that will prove pivotal during the second half of the campaign. After the Udinese game, Juventus then host Bologna and travel to Empoli before their first significant test when they take on Lazio at the Allians Stadium in mid-September.

Trips to Atalanta and AC Milan are on the agenda in October while Juventus will host Inter Milan on November 23rd, which could be a defining game ahead of the huge clash with champions Napoli in early December. It’s a decent opening fixture list for Juventus as the majority of the games against the ‘big’ teams are at home, so Allegri will hope to get plenty of points on the board during the opening few months to establish themselves as title contenders.

Transfers

Allegri is still hoping to strengthen his squad, despite Juve’s financial woes. Sofyan Amrabat is a target for Juventus but they face stiff competition from Manchester United. The Red Devils are also keen on the Fiorentina midfielder and have reportedly agreed personal terms. Amrabat reportedly favours a move to Old Trafford but United can’t formalise their interest with an offer until they offload some unwanted players, which gives Juventus hope they can strike a deal first.

Fiorentina are wanting around £25m for the Moroccan international, which makes him a realistic and cost-effective solution for Juventus. Having already missed out on Franck Kessie – who’s moved to Saudi Arabia – Juventus will not want to lose out to United in the race for Amrabat.

There will be outgoings too, and Ajax have made contact with Leonardo Bonucci, who has been frozen out of the first team at Juventus this summer. Bonucci still hopes to force his way back into Allegri’s plans but the defenders agent, Alessandro Lucci, has admitted they are now looking for a new club and it appears Ajax are a serious option.

The Dutch club wants the former Bianconeri captain to serve as a mentor for their young stars, and Bonucci is now giving serious consideration to making a move to Ajax this summer with talks expected over the coming days. Bonucci has already turned down offers from Al-Shabab, Los Angeles FC, and a few Serie B clubs, including Sampdoria, Bari, Palermo, and Pisa.

Denis Zakaria is also set to leave with AS Monaco ahead of West Ham in the race to recruit the Juventus midfielder. The Principality club is nearing an agreement that would see Zakaria wear the red and white shirt in the next Ligue 1 season. The 26-year-old Swiss international has been on West Ham’s radar as a potential replacement for defensive midfielder Declan Rice. Following his loan spell at Chelsea last season, Zakaria piqued the interest of numerous big teams in England and abroad.

Monaco have emerged as the frontrunners to sign the former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder. A deal for roughly £17 million is nearing completion.

Vlahovic could also be on the way out as Juventus look to raise money to fund new additions. The Serbian is an important player for Allegri but he’s viewed as one of the most sellable assets in the squad and he could be heading to England. Chelsea have held talks with Juve over a potential player plus cash swap deal that would see the Blues pay £40m and offer Romelu Lukaku in exchange for Vlahovic. Lukaku isn’t in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for this season and is keen on a move back to Serie A. Chelsea need more firepower after losing Christopher Nkunku for four months after he suffered a serious knee injury in pre-season.

Therefore, a swap deal would suit all parties. Juventus would get a direct replacement for Vlahovic and £40m to reinvest into the squad. Chelsea would offload Lukaku and replace him with a player that Pochettino wants to bring in. So this is certainly a transfer story to keep an eye on. Lukaku is proven in Italy having impressed while at Inter Milan in recent seasons, so he would be a good signing for Juventus.

However, no deal has been agreed as yet and Tottenham and Bayern Munich have also been linked with Vlahovic. Bayern no longer need him after buying Harry Kane from Spurs, so the North Londoners could be Chelsea’s main competition. Tottenham now need to replace Kane following his move to Germany and Vlahovic is on their hit list. The Serbian is available and within their budget, so we could see Spurs step up their interest over the coming days.