David Lee Wheatley examines whether struggling Serie A champions Juventus plumped for the correct creator on a hectic transfer deadline day.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri publicly declared a specific interest in the signing of a trequartista – or advanced playmaker – earlier this summer.
He’d lost the services of a deep-lying creative force in the form of Andrea Pirlo, while dynamic attacking midfielder Arturo Vidal completed a switch to Bayern Munich.
Shorn of such world-class talent, Bianconeri sporting director Giuseppe Marotta immediately went on the hunt for suitable replacements.
German international Sami Khedira was introduced into the deeper role, but he simply doesn’t offer the same playmaking qualities attached to the old maestro. Then, he was crocked with a thigh muscle injury in pre-season and is yet to return.
Therefore, all signs pointed to the arrival of a traditional number 10, who would be tasked with the crucial responsibility of opening up the opposition from a position between the lines of midfield and attack.
At least six names were speculated upon throughout the transfer window, including Oscar of Chelsea, Schalke’s Julian Draxler and Bayern star Mario Gotze. Others mentioned were Kevin de Bruyne, Mesut Ozil and Axel Witsel, but none of them turned up in Turin.
So, with Monday evening’s transfer deadline approaching and all alternative avenues exhausted, the Bianconeri unexpectedly plucked out-of-favour Inter man Hernanes from the Stadio Meazza for €11 million.
The Brazilian is an accomplished footballer, who boasts 27 caps for his country, and possesses five years’ worth of Serie A experience since signing for Lazio from Sao Paulo in 2010.
However, he was no higher than seventh on Allegri’s wish-list and certainly won’t whet the appetite of Juventus fans hoping for a bigger name.
Hernanes failed to nail down a regular spot at Inter last season, making just 17 league starts and 9 substitute appearances, while he began on the bench for both Nerazzurri fixtures played so far this time around.
But, a closer look into his 2014-15 record – in comparison with predecessors Pirlo and Vidal – makes for interesting reading.
He scored one more Serie A goal [5] and assisted one less [4] than the recent New York City FC recruit from a similar amount of starts [17 and 19].
Combative Chilean Vidal started 23 times in the league, assisting four times just as the new boy did, while notching two extra strikes.
Hernanes had a much higher shots-per-game ratio [2.5] than both of the departed stars, plus his key passes average [1.9] came in better than Vidal [1.3], though Pirlo [2.2] rules the roost on that particular discipline.
The former Aquile creator is versatile positionally, and possesses delightful dribbling skills, along with a battling spirit. Thus, he covers a wide range of those vital characteristics lost when the aforementioned duo waved goodbye.
Furthermore, the Brazil international is something of a set-piece specialist, which is illustrated by the fact that he’s the only player to have scored both right [5] and left-footed [1] free-kicks in Serie A since 2010-11.
It’s somewhat surprising that Inter didn’t rely on the 30-year-old more often, judging by the 1.8 points per game won on average last term with Hernanes playing, as opposed to 0.8 points claimed without him.
His influence on the team is therefore starkly evident, and he undoubtedly holds the ability required to transmit that significant impact on to his forthcoming spell at the Juventus Stadium.
Though supporters will initially feel deflated at the lack of a €30m-plus superstar signing – especially on the back of their first-ever experience of losing the opening two Serie A matches of a new campaign – they will soon realise that the Recife-born midfielder has everything in his locker to make the Old Lady tick.
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