No week goes by without Juventus being linked to Teun Koopmeiners in some way, shape, or form. Cristiano Giuntoli indeed likes him and tried to sign him when he was at Napoli. However, there’s a long way to go before he can be anointed as the savior of the midfield.
The Current Options
The Bianconeri should finally go all-in on bolstering it. It has been a weak spot for years. At this stage, they have only two very reliable players. They stumbled into Weston McKennie, becoming an elite box-to-box. They were lucky Leeds United got relegated and other teams didn’t lodge good enough offers while he was in limbo last summer. The other is Adrien Rabiot, who’s on an expiring contract. It’s time to nip the problem in the bud. He should either sign a long-term deal or be let go. The year-to-year uncertainty is no longer sustainable since he’s a cornerstone.
It’s clear that Manuel Locatelli doesn’t work as a deep-lying midfielder. He’s not a good enough leader or distributor. He only contributes defensively in such a role. A real ‘regista’ would improve their level of play tremendously. The former Sassuolo star could be moved to box-to-box, where he had great moments with Italy and would bring to the table something similar to Rabiot, simply be demoted. They’ll need to be a lot deeper next season. Juventus have a bunch of young midfielders in their squad or on loan, some more interesting than others, but no real difference-makers for now.
Even though the Bianconeri have restored a normal dynamic with Giuntoli, as the director picks the signings and the coach simply provides suggestions and isn’t as powerful as in the past, the latter and his preferred scheme still make all the difference. There’s a big gap in terms of tasks and characteristics between players who excel in a two or a three-man midfield. Therefore, the choice of the manager comes before any transfer market decision. That’s the first part where the incessant buzz feels premature.
Atalanta’s Modus Operandi
Atalanta are no stranger to selling linchpins. They have done it almost every summer. However, things changed slightly since Stephen Pagliuca became the co-owner of the team along with the Percassi family. They are no longer doing it to foot the team per se but rather if it’s a smart business decision. It took €75M plus add-ons to part ways with Rasmus Hojlund, whom they wanted to keep initially. They probably did it because they thought that would be his value once he peaked. Manchester United reached it after just one promising season.
Koopmeiners is older and doesn’t have the same sky-high potential, but he’s already great. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he has a €50/55M valuation. Even though he’s not young, it sounds a little optimistic, especially since he wouldn’t lack deep-pocketed foreign suitors. If we took that for good, it’s hard to imagine Juventus, whose financial situation is disastrous, spending that much for any player.
Juventus’ Rumored Strategy
Things will get better with the UCL prize money, but probably not enough for that kind of investment. Since he was hired, Giuntoli has spent €10M for Timothy Weah, €3.5M for Tiago Djaló, and €3.9M for the loan of Alcaraz, and that’s it. He has mostly searched for bargains. They have never come even close to splurging. Moreover, considering their newfound emphasis on youngsters, cashing in on somebody with the quality and potential of Matias Soulé or Kenan Yildiz to bankroll some additions would be counter-intuitive.
If their budget is indeed larger in the summer, it’ll make more sense to spread it through multiple purchases. For instance, a duo formed by Lewis Ferguson and Lazar Samardzic would be more beneficial than any single purchase, even if of a higher caliber. They could get very frisky and mix and match as they want taking this route.
The Tactical Reservations
If Juventus stick with a three-man defense, the single-best improvement they could make is an Andrea Pirlo-like player. Unfortunately, those don’t grow on trees. Koopmeiners could potentially be that, but it wouldn’t be a readymade fit. He’s had an odd trajectory for somebody moving to Serie A from abroad. He began in a defensive role and progressively advanced on the pitch. He’s a full-fledged no.10 now, and his position is even tilted to one of the wings depending on who’s with him in their trident. Should he join, the debate about where to put him would start right away. He has the passing chops, vision, and command to become the type of player they desperately need. However, deploying him more distant from the box would neutralize his shooting and cutting prowess, two of his strengths.
Combining that with the coaching decision, an astronomical price tag, and the competition should he become available, it’s better to temper expectations about his arrival and for Juventus not to get fixated on him, but that’s probably not an issue, as some of their recent purchases have come out of the blue.
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