A new era is set to be commence at Serie A giants Juventus, with Thiago Motta being announced as the club’s new manager ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The ex-Italy international joins Juve on the back of a stunning campaign in charge of Bologna in which he dragged the Tuscan club to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over five decades.
Amazingly, he may have a similarly difficult job on his hands at Juventus. Despite their Coppa Italia triumph, La Vecchia Signora were very, very ordinary throughout much of 2023/24, and are in dire need of major upheaval heading into next season.
Here’s what Motta’s first four priorities need to be after taking over at the Allianz Stadium.
Ah, the Juventus midfield rebuild.
Ever since the famous midfield of Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba disbanded, it’s been the one thing that Juve fans have been begging for.
So can it finally happen under Motta?
Judging by the heavy links with Douglas Luiz, the expected exits of Adrien Rabiot and Weston McKennie, and Nicolo Fagioli’s return to action, the answer to that question may be yes.
The acquisition of Luiz alone would go along way to sorting out Juve’s myriad of midfield issues.
Signed for a whopping €80m, it’s fair to say that Dusan Vlahovic hasn’t quite lived up to the hype since his move to Juventus yet.
A lot of that isn’t his fault, to be fair. Playing in a defence-first team for the last few seasons hasn’t been kind to Vlahovic, who has largely fed off scraps since making the move to Turin.
Creating more chances for the club’s star number nine will have to be a tactical priority for Motta’s coaching staff. In this day and age, Juve simply can’t afford for a signing like Vlahovic to not work out.
Kenan Yildiz, Fabio Miretti, Matia Soule, Andrea Cambiaso, Nicolo Fagioli, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia.
When was the last time Juventus had this many potential stars breaking through at the same time? Honestly, we’re not sure it’s ever happened before.
With that, and Juve’s financial woes in mind, Motta will need to prioritise cultivating the talent in this wonderful gifted class of youngsters. Particularly Yildiz, who looks destined for superstardom in the very, very near future.
Watching Juventus during the final few months of the 2023/24 season was the footballing equivalent of taking two Xanex.
They were literally impossible to watch without falling asleep.
Being more entertaining than that isn’t a particularly high bar, and one which with his possession-based style of play Motta should jump over comfortably during his time at Juventus.
