Devi, by better players i meant "less crappy"

Lemina --> Bentancur
Hernanes --> Mandragora
Sturaro --> Tolisso

I keep forgetting about Bentancur

I still wonder what he is all about.

Me too, i know nothing about him.

Still prefer him over the 3 i mentioned before loool. Especially Hernanes and Lemina. Both are not good enough for the salary they earn, it's as simple as that. Mandragora & Bentancur really can't do worse once they join.

Barcelona target Paulo Dybala wants to leave Juventus

Dybala wants out

It looks like Juventus could be facing consecutive summers of losing one of their best players. A year after Paul Pogba went to Manchester United for a world record fee, Paulo Dybala could follow him out the exit. Cope report that the Argentine forward wants to leave the Old Lady. Spain is his most likely destination with Barcelona favourites.

Dybala made headlines in Italy at the weekend when he blatantly snubbed Max Allegri’s handshake following his substitution during the 2-0 victory at Sassuolo. This was a sign that their relationship has completely deteriorated.

Will Juventus sell him?

Juventus want to keep the player and he’s under contract until 2020. However, if Dybala is adamant that he wants to leave then they will consider cashing in on him. Signed for €32m + €8m in bonuses back in 2015, he’s scored 31 goals in 67 games for the Italian champions. Plenty of other clubs are expected to join the race for his signature.

Atletico Madrid might try to sign him as a marquee replacement for Antoine Griezmann, if the Frenchman leaves.

Dybala piensa en dejar la Juventus el próximo verano

http://www.cope.es/detalle/El-futuro-de-Dybala-en-This-is-Futbol.html?id=2017013020060001

I thought Bonucci was our best player

Anyways, this really seems like the media preying on the lack of a contract extension and his substitution antics on the weekend.

But last summer (for the majority of it), I did think Pogba would stay at Juventus and while the two situations are not similar, I no longer will be dealing with absolutes when it comes to considering player exits and signings.

I think if he does leave, it's a mistake on his part because he can still grow with this team but if he does leave I think we'll make the best of it, like we always do.

Gianluigi Donnarumma's agent agitates for Milan starlet to join Juve

Juventus eye Donnarumma deal

Juventus are plotting an audacious swoop on rivals AC Milan for their prized jewel, Tuttosport reported, with a move for Gianluigi Donnarumma in the works.

The goalkeeper's agent, Mino Raiola, will hold discussions with the Milan club after claiming the 17-year-old is not appreciated, with a host of suitors monitoring his progress following the astounding start to his fledgling career.

The paper claims Donnarumma could be the future, replacing the all-time great Gianluigi Buffon as the veteran custodian approaches retirement.

A quick glance at Juventus transfer target Rodrigo Bentancur

The Boca Juniors youngster is destined to become a Juventus player. Let's make a quick analysis of his short professional career.

Rodrigo Bentancur is a recurrent name associated with Juventus right now. It’s expected that the talented Uruguayan teenager will arrive in Turin at some point this year. Without a doubt, he’s a rising star in the Argentinian championship, and it seems like Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta believes that the kid is special. However, Bentancur, 19, is still considered a gamble for the future.

Let’s take a look at the young Xeneize prospect.

Bentancur was 12 years old when he arrived at Boca. Since then, he made swift progress inside the team ranks. Rodrigo debuted with Boca’s first team in 2015 when he was 17. Months later, he became an undisputed starter. This current season, Bentancur has played in 10 matches with Boca, hasn’t scored a goal, and has two assists. Albeit these numbers don’t look impressive, his quality on the pitch has been notable. The kid is a technician, he has a natural intuition to win balls in the midfield and possesses great personality and vision.

Boca Juniors legend, Juan Román Riquelme, claimed that he hadn't seen many players with Bentancur’s passing skills before. He added that there’s always a growing sensation that something important could happen every time Bentancur has the ball. Rodrigo’s former coach, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, considered him a once-in-a-thousand talent. In the same way, the specialized press has compared the Uruguayan with Riquelme, Éver Banega and Javier Pastore. Ironically, Bentancur doesn’t consider himself a trequartista. He previously said: “I’m an eight. I’m neither a defensive midfielder nor an enganche. I’m more of a (Fernando) Gago than a Riquelme.”

Clearly, the kid loves to perform as a mixed midfielder. In fact, he only has played as a traditional offensive midfielder in one game this season.

Boca Juniors began the 2016-17 season playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Bentancur started playing as a double-five next to the veteran Pablo Perez. Thanks to his ability, he was considered Boca’s natural regista. Nonetheless, Bentancur suffered some growing pains, and the Argentinian press started to criticize him early and often. Luckily, Xeneize’s icon, Fernando Gago, returned from a hard injury, which allowed Boca Juniors’ coach, Guillermo Barros Schelotto to switch to a 4-3-1-2 configuration. Bentancur shifted to the left midfielder position. This change allowed Fernando Gago and Carlos Tevez to take most of the playmaking duties. Betancur improved after the switch. He had fewer responsibilities and learned behind the veteran stars. Right now, Bentancur is leading Uruguay national team during the CONMEBOL sub-20 championship.

Bentancur has had painful experiences in Argentina. On Sept. 6, 2015, he started as the attacking midfielder of Boca Juniors in an important match against San Lorenzo de Almagro. Boca and San Lorenzo were fighting for the first place at that time. The match went into extra time tied without any goals scored, when Bentancur took the ball just in front Boca’s defense. He tried to pass the ball back to a defender, but San Lorenzo striker Mauro Matos cleverly intercepted the attempt and scored easily beating the goalkeeper Agustin Orion. The game ended with a San Lorenzo victory, and Bentancur left the stadium in tears.

However, the wonderkid bounced back from the mistake. He helped Boca beat River Plate in the very next game. He gained the praise of current and former players for his efforts. A month later, Boca won the Argentinian championship. The youngster showcased great resilience in that moment of crisis.

Bentancur has been under constant scrutiny of the fans and the press. Before Juventus, he had been linked with moves to Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Milan. Those rumors put him in the international spotlight, which could be hard to handle for a 19- year-old player. The pressure led Bentancur to declare: “if Messi is questioned, why they (the press) won’t question me.” Some members of the media took that declaration as a sign of arrogance. They thought that the youngster was comparing himself with the Barcelona superstar directly. Right now, there are reports which claim that Bentancur wants to earn €2 million annually. That's a high number for a youngster who hasn't played a minute in Serie A. For example, Juventus defender Daniele Rugani was earning €850,000 before extending his contract late last year. Croatian speedster Marko Pjaca is making €1.2 million right now. They could be considered in the same tier (or above) of Bentancur.

Bentancur has the talent to become a Juventus regular. He can benefit from playing alongside Claudio Marchisio, Miralem Pjanic, and Sami Khedira. I firmly believe that the Uruguayan has the physical attributes and technical skills to make an impact. However, Rodrigo must know that he would arrive in the big leagues. A lot of players have failed in their quest to success. If he plays his cards correctly, he can reach Vinovo in a moment of need. Also, he can challenge Stefano Sturaro, Mario Lemina, and Hernanes from the get-go. Humility and patience are the keywords for Bentancur.

Max Allegri likes to grow his young players slowly. For now, he’s not at the same level of the other Juventus starters. Hopefully, he will be part of a strong generation of bianconeri that includes Rugani, Dybala, Pjaca, Mandragora, Orsolini, Kean, and Caldara that will take Europe by storm.

http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2017/2/1/13993488/rodrigo-bentancur-boca-juniors-juventus-2017-serie-a-transfers

Tuttosport say we've secured Kolasinac and that he'll arrive in Turin for medical visits next week.

Kolasinac set for Juventus medical
By Football Italia staff

Despite interest from Chelsea, it’s reported Schalke 04 left-back Sead Kolasinac will have a Juventus medical next week.

The 23-year-old Bosnia international will be a free agent when his contract with Schalke expires in June.

Antonio Conte had asked Chelsea to target the player for next summer.

However, according to the front page of Thursday’s edition of Tuttosport, Kolasinac will fly in for a Juventus medical in Turin next week.

The Bianconeri opted not to replace Patrice Evra when he was sold to Olympique Marseille in January, as Kwadwo Asamoah and Federico Mattiello can cover his position.

This season Kolasinac has provided two goals and six assists in 18 competitive games for Schalke.

Can he play CB (Kolasinac) ?

Otherwise, i don't see the point of signing him, even for free. Sandro is world-class and Asamoah is a decent back up option. What we need is a RIGHT full back who's more reliable than Alves.

I guess we'll probably end up selling Asamoah in the summer. That, or we won't sign Kolasinac.

How long is Alves' contract? we should sell him in the summer and bring someone more interesting like Lirola, Conti or Zappacosta.

Asamoah & Alves until June 2018.

Alves is gone, we have better options. Was a top 3 rb in Liga in his prime, but last autumn he was no where near that level. Heck, he's not even top 3 rb in Juventus ! Licht & Cuadrado do better at RWB, and i rate right-back-Barzagli above him as well. Add to that young italian players in Serie A we could buy instead...

Only scenario where his crosses would be world-class is if Higuain was standing in the crowd on the 15th row.

Can't rely on Asamoah, even after games like the last one where he looked great he's still a massive injury risk. Absolutely in the short term at least we need another LB who's dependable.


As for Alves, it would be stupid to write him off already. He deserves another chance. Especially if we're talking about replacing him with a declining licht, our on loan Cuadrado or a young kid.

A declining Licht is still better than what Dani Alves was for us. Alves will play again when he comes back, but past this summer it doesn't make sense to have both him and Licht. A younger player needs to be signed.

Licht has been better so he deserves to be the one who stays.

Licht was better for the most part, but if Alves has anything left in him i'd prefer to give him a chance. If not, we need to look at really getting an established RB who's not either declining or too inexperienced to have that pressure.


I wouldn't want to limit Cuadrado to that role either. Although tbf he's probably my favourite for that role in the current squad. Maybe i'd feel differently if we actually owned him.

Cuadrado's deal was complicated, wasn't it a 3 year loan where we pay a fee each year? I imagine he will be here for a while.

Alves will get his chance again no doubt, he was already back on the bench last game. We'll see him soon.

Which established RBs are available? haven't thought about it too much.

Kolasinac is young, free and can play multiple positions, seems like an easy one for our board.

While Asamoah is an injury concern, in his current role, he is perfect. Realistically, every player, at every moment of every game, is a potential injury concern. Given our run of injuries this season, we should not be deterred, as just about every player in our starting 11 has missed games due to injury (I think only Buffon hasn't but someone can correct me).

What we need to identify is 1-2 top midfielders and start to shape that part of our team more, we still have players like Lemina, Sturaro and Hernanes on our bench- now, I'm not saying all should leave but all of them could leave.

Next we need maybe a back up forward, but I really think it is the middle of the field that needs work. From there we will have to respond to any players moving out and find adequate replacements.

Our team is still well composed for the next season though. We do not have massive concerns right now (apart from the midfield which just may be my concern), I mean we don't have to deal with an expiring Buffon or Barzagli or Allegri contract right now.

Were in a good place for the summer where we can really go for the targets we want and not have to worry about signing 5-6 players like previous summers.

We are in a good place and the squad is large. For everyone that comes in, one has to go out.

In 2018 (at the latest) we'll lose Licht and Alves, Barzagli may retire too. I'd rather not lose all of our RBs in the same summer. That's why I would like to sell one and sign a new this summer so the transition is easier.

RB in, Alves out.
Kolasinac in, Asamoah out (?).
Bentancur in, Lemina out.
Berardi/Orsolini in, Hernanes out.

I think that should be our start, could be a different CM other than Bentancur and another RW/mid other than Berardi and Orsolini.


With Rincon and Sturaro hanging around.

Both Bentancur and Tolisso will come in the summer. Lemina and Hernanes will surely get sold. So our midfield will get a major upgrade.

As for RB we are linked with Vrsaljko who was one of the best RB's in Italy when he played for Sassuolo. Also with Milan most likely missing out on CL and probably EL as well with their injury crisis De Sciglio may be available as well. Lirola is still too young and should say at Sassuolo for at least another year until he's ready.

I think Berardi will come this summer as well. He needs to take his career to the next level and join a big club. I see both Berardi and Bernardeschi leaving their mid level clubs and joining a big club in the summer.

I hate to break the news but if Dybala leaves then we will be in for a summer of major change once again. Anywhere from 5-7 new players will arrive. The good news is Dybala is the last of the foreign stars that will be sought after by the big clubs. The only other concern of a big money offer is for Sandro. So it makes sense to sign someone like Kolasinac who will be a great back up and can also play as a CB or as a CM. Kolasinac is very versatile. I think he only switched over to LB this year.

If Dybala leaves I expect a big name signing like James (could be a James + cash offer from Madrid) and or Sanchez.

4-2-3-1...

                  Higuain
     Sanchez  James  Berardi
               Pjanic Tolisso
 Sandro  Rugani  Bonucci  Vrsaljko
                    GIGI

That team above would do some serious damage in Europe.

Also with the sale of Dybala we could go after Donnarumma. Raiola could force a sale to collect a commission so that is something to follow as well. Raiola owes us for the Pogba fiasco.

Kolasinac is a beast physical and he is 22 plus he can play LB,LWB,DM,CB,RB.
Some people call him Thuram . But he aint bad player he has a lot of potential and is more than decent signing. He is going to be surprise for most of our fans. He is strong, too strong even, and runs like a man possessed. HHas a good cross and pass.

juve_gigi wrote:Both Bentancur and Tolisso will come in the summer. Lemina and Hernanes will surely get sold. So our midfield will get a major upgrade.

As for RB we are linked with Vrsaljko who was one of the best RB's in Italy when he played for Sassuolo. Also with Milan most likely missing out on CL and probably EL as well with their injury crisis De Sciglio may be available as well. Lirola is still too young and should say at Sassuolo for at least another year until he's ready.

I think Berardi will come this summer as well. He needs to take his career to the next level and join a big club. I see both Berardi and Bernardeschi leaving their mid level clubs and joining a big club in the summer.

I hate to break the news but if Dybala leaves then we will be in for a summer of major change once again. Anywhere from 5-7 new players will arrive. The good news is Dybala is the last of the foreign stars that will be sought after by the big clubs. The only other concern of a big money offer is for Sandro. So it makes sense to sign someone like Kolasinac who will be a great back up and can also play as a CB or as a CM. Kolasinac is very versatile. I think he only switched over to LB this year.

If Dybala leaves I expect a big name signing like James (could be a James + cash offer from Madrid) and or Sanchez.

4-2-3-1...

                  Higuain
     Sanchez  James  Berardi
               Pjanic Tolisso
 Sandro  Rugani  Bonucci  Vrsaljko
                    GIGI

That team above would do some serious damage in Europe.

Also with the sale of Dybala we could go after Donnarumma. Raiola could force a sale to collect a commission so that is something to follow as well. Raiola owes us for the Pogba fiasco.

Alex Sandro is unsellable for me the only player who could replace him in the world at the moment is Alaba and their aint a snowballs chance in hell we could get Alaba. I would only consider offers of 100 mil + for Sandro which no one will pay

marottalad wrote:

juve_gigi wrote:Both Bentancur and Tolisso will come in the summer. Lemina and Hernanes will surely get sold. So our midfield will get a major upgrade.

As for RB we are linked with Vrsaljko who was one of the best RB's in Italy when he played for Sassuolo. Also with Milan most likely missing out on CL and probably EL as well with their injury crisis De Sciglio may be available as well. Lirola is still too young and should say at Sassuolo for at least another year until he's ready.

I think Berardi will come this summer as well. He needs to take his career to the next level and join a big club. I see both Berardi and Bernardeschi leaving their mid level clubs and joining a big club in the summer.

I hate to break the news but if Dybala leaves then we will be in for a summer of major change once again. Anywhere from 5-7 new players will arrive. The good news is Dybala is the last of the foreign stars that will be sought after by the big clubs. The only other concern of a big money offer is for Sandro. So it makes sense to sign someone like Kolasinac who will be a great back up and can also play as a CB or as a CM. Kolasinac is very versatile. I think he only switched over to LB this year.

If Dybala leaves I expect a big name signing like James (could be a James + cash offer from Madrid) and or Sanchez.

4-2-3-1...

                  Higuain
     Sanchez  James  Berardi
               Pjanic Tolisso
 Sandro  Rugani  Bonucci  Vrsaljko
                    GIGI

That team above would do some serious damage in Europe.

Also with the sale of Dybala we could go after Donnarumma. Raiola could force a sale to collect a commission so that is something to follow as well. Raiola owes us for the Pogba fiasco.

Alex Sandro is unsellable for me the only player who could replace him in the world at the moment is Alaba and their aint a snowballs chance in hell we could get Alaba. I would only consider offers of 100 mil + for Sandro which no one will pay

Agree with you on that. We should tie Sandro down for another 3 years at the very least. He'll be Brazil's starting LB when Marcelo begins to fade..

Guys... there are no reports of this. But what do you guys think if we pay 50-55mill for Kun Aguero and form an Argentine attacking trident. I don't see how this is so unattainable, I mean, Pep and him have issues and I don't see where else he would be an addition at the moment, I could be wrong. What do you guys think?

Higuain - Aguero
Dybala

That's a great trio but I don't agree with it. First,because Aguerro has been a injury prone in recent years. 50 mln are big money and maybe we can bring a top quality midfielder with that (maybe adding a few mln to that).And if he wants to leave there will be competition which can raise his price.

If we really need an attacking trio then I'd go for Sanchez. That would allow Dybala to play as RWF , which I think is his best position.Sanchez is in the same situation and will likely leave Arsenal.He's Serie A proven and probably will fit our team better.

With Pjaca and Cuadrado as backups we can do great with a 4-3-3. But like I said we need to reinforce our midfield first then our attack. Plus we also nees to think about our ageing defense. It's great Marotta already got Caldara and Rugani is growing. We need to buy Benatia and then add a young RB for the future.

I'd love Aguero if we didn't have Higuain, but now it settled for the main CF. Argentina has been trying to make Higuain-Aguero-Messi work for a decade and it just doesn't. It didn't work with Messi, it won't work with Dybala.