Juventus End Their Striker Hunt With Alvaro Morata Return

So it’s Alvaro after all! After months of speculations, new manager Andrea Pirlo has been finally given his desired striker, and it’s no-other than his former teammate Alvaro Morata who is set to complete a sensational comeback to Juventus on an initial loan deal from Atletico Madrid.

What will the former Real Madrid academy product offer for the Italian champions? And does he have what it takes to break into the formidable Juve starting lineup?

The Alternative Option for Juventus

It’s been a weird couple of months in Juve’s calciomercato, which was marked by the collapse of several potential transfers that were at the time described as “Done Deals.”

From Arkadiusz Milik being a target of former coach Maurizio Sarri, to Edin Dzeko becoming the primary target with Pirlo’s appointment, to the rise and fall of the Luis Suarez saga, and then back to Dzeko again, right until the deal was wrecked by the whole “Napoli vs Milik” battle, throughout the potential transfers Olivier Giroud and Moise Kean…

Fabio Paratici and Co. had their hands full this summer, and with the Serie A season already underway, the ice-cold Pirlo was beginning to run out of patience, and thus the director of sports sprinted to finalize a deal for Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata.

Sometimes a third or fourth option can turn out to be even better than the first. At least it’s what both life and football have taught us. Morata might not have been as prolific as the likes of Dzeko and Suarez, especially during his latest stints at Chelsea and Atletico, but at the age of 27, he represents a younger and hungrier alternative and should be thrilled to enter his peak years at the club that he repeatedly described as a family.

Although the young Spaniard had his ups and downs during his two-year stint at Juventus, he had always been remembered by the Bianconeri supporters for his decisive goals, including the one that knocked out his childhood club Real Madrid from the Champions League Semi-Final in 2015 and the goal against Barcelona in the Final of the competition. And no Juve fan will forget his final goal for the club as it clinched a Coppa Italia trophy in extra-time before his somewhat “forced” return to the Spanish capital.

Fitting Morata In Pirlo’s Juventus

While the popular fan choice would want to see the returning center-forward linking up with fellow stars Paolo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo all in one formation, the early signs point that Pirlo’s Plan A is the 3-5-2 lineup, with Aaron Ramsey advancing to support the two strikers.

In this case, Morata would probably have to rotate with Dybala for a spot beside Ronaldo, with the two younger men occasionally starting together in some “less important” matches where the Italian boss can afford to rest the Portuguese megastar.

And although none of the players would want to start a big match from the bench, every big European side needs to have at least one forward who can act as a super-sub whenever the team is desperate for a goal. So we can expect the popular trio to be unleashed during the second half possibly replacing Ramsey or another midfielder.

But with the Welsh’s injury record, Ronaldo, Dybala, and Morata could all find themselves starting in an alternative 3-4-3 formation, with the Argentine dropping back a little bit to help with the build-up, as well as a possible 4-3-3 formation.

But one thing is for sure, Alvaro Morata will be a valuable piece in the Juventus squad, as he will offer Andrea Pirlo the chance to rotate his attacking options and tinker in his formation.