New Juventus chief Antonio Conte has been a busy boy so far this summer recruiting no less than 12 players already, five of which have been midfielders. It is clear that since taking the managerial post at Juve Conte has highlighted the midfield as a key area for improvement.
The signings of Andrea Pirlo and Michel Pazienza are certain to add quality and experience to the Juve squad. In addition to these two midfield signings Juventus have also brought young Swedish U21 international Albin Ekdal, Sergio Almiron back to the club while also completing the permanent signing of Simone Pepe from Udinese.
Taking all these signings into account the number of midfielders currently in the Juventus first-team totals at 11, which could prove to be a major headache for Conte.
During Conte’s time at Siena he was very keen on the 4-2-4 formation where he deployed outside forwards (such as Simone Pepe) in the wide areas, and it seems likely that he will continue deploying this tactical formation at the start of his tenure at Bianconeri. This could create a huge problem as nine of the 11 midfielders at his disposal are predominantly central players, and clearly this formation only allows you to deploy two central midfielders.
There has been much speculation about the future of many players at Juve most notably Brazilian hardman Felipe Melo and Malian powerhouse Mohammed Sissoko.
Earlier this week it was announced on the Juventus website that eight first-team players would not be travelling with the squad for their pre-season tour of the USA, both Melo and Sissoko were among the eight emitted from the tour.
It is reported that Melo has received an offer from a major European club and during an interview earlier this week he was quoted as saying “I’ve received an offer from Europe that will vastly improve my salary, we’re finalising the details and over the next few days everything should be completed”. Some of the clubs being linked with the Brazilian include Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Galatasaray.
The future of Sissoko is less clear as it seems like there is no concrete offer in place for him, although a move to La Liga looks on the cards as new Malaga owners are reportedly ready to dip into their big pot of money to try and acquire his signature. News broke this morning that Portuguese midfielder Tiago has agreed to mutually terminate his contract with Juventus, a statement from the club said “Juventus announces it has mutually agreed with Tiago to terminate his contract.”
With Tiago already out the door it is still obvious for all to see that Juve need to offload at least two more of their midfielders, although it is also clear that they need to bring in some more quality on the flanks. From Luis Nani to Diego Capel, nearly every winger in Europe has been linked with a move to Turin this summer but it looks as if Bianconeri have finally decided that Lyons Michel Bastos is the man for them. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Bastos’ agent met with Juve director Giuseppe Marotta, last week in an attempt to thrash out a deal for the Brazilian wide man.
Taking all this transfer activity into account it is likely that Conte will have to select his central midfield pairing from the following (assuming he deploys the 4-2-4 formation), Pirlo, Pazienza, Marchisio, Almiron and Ekdal. The manager will also have to decide upon who are the two players who best suit the wide positions in this formation, he will have to decide between; Krasic, Martinez, Pepe plus one more (most probably Bastos).
The real challenge for the new coach this year is first; to balance the squad this summer, shipping out the dead wood in order to bring in the necessary quality to compete for the Scudetto, and secondly once the season begins finding the right shape and balance to his line-up which enables him to get the best out of the talented squad he has at his disposal.
For all the latest Juventus news don’t forget to check out the Clubs section of Forza Italian Football.
Join Forza Italian Football on Twitter and Facebook.
——-Rossi–Matri——–
LW——————Krasic
——-Pirlo—Vidal——–
Ziegler-Chiellini-CB-Lichtsteiner
———-Buffon———-
Quags Matri up front, Pirlo and Vidal or Marchisio in CM, in Lw again Vidal or Marchisio, RW Krasic.
Defence Ziegler/De Ceglie, Girogio, Bonucci, and Litschteiner.
so what happens to Marchisio?