Juventus have been clinically effective in the transfer market
Carlos Tevez: Paying homage or perpetually homesick. (Getty Images)
It’s been a productive transfer window for Juventus, one where they certainly haven’t been the busiest but have been clinically effective.
With only three major signings during the transfer window, Juve have managed to further elevate a squad that required minimal corrections. The squad has seen some changes in terms of sales as well and the likes of Alessandro Matri, Simone Zaza, Emanuele Giaccherini and Felipe Melo have all departed the club.
The major additions to the Juventus squad come in the form of an all-new front line of Spanish target-man Fernando Llorente and Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, while Torino central defender Angelo Ogbonna has been brought in to further bolster an already impeccable rear guard.
Fernando Llorente | Bosman | Striker
It seems like a long time since anybody’s bothered with Llorente, but that is probably because Juve have had this behemoth of a forward signed to a pre-contractual agreement since January.
The arrival of such an influential target-man on a free transfer might be the single greatest piece of business conducted during this entire transfer window; depending on whether or not the big man can start firing immediately, in what will undoubtedly be a new environment.
Another problem will be the lack of match fitness for a player, who has been sitting on the bench for the past year due to disagreements with the board. All those concerns might just be minor chinks in the armour of what might be the best strike force in the Serie A, since the days of David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Verdict: 7/10. He might be the real deal but there are just too many moving pieces in it for my taste.
Carlos Tevez | £10m | Striker
Tevez may be a little bit of an unknown quantity off the field but while on the pitch, he gives it his all, every single time. His performances over the years have made one fact very clear, Tevez will literally run till he drops for his team, no matter what team that is.
His considerable work rate, combined with his deadly eye for goal, has made him one of the most feared forwards in the modern game. The fact that he will be teaming up with Llorente makes for great viewing, since he will undoubtedly try to get on the end of every single knock down Llorente sends his way.
It really is an incredible triumvirate that the old lady has going right now, with Andrea Pirlo to pick out Llorente and Tevez ready to smack the ball into the back of the net, at any point. Despite all that, his off field antics might just ruin the team, and reports of him being homesick seem to be surfacing every other week.
Verdict: 9/10. It would be 10 but for his knack of running off to Argentina every time somebody blinks his way.
Angelo Ogbonna | £11.5m | Centre-back
The spotlight has been firmly fixed over the young Italian for the best part of two years, and he finally made the jump across Turin to Juventus in a deal that infuriated Torino fans.
The centre-back was the saving grace of a Torino defence that gave up 56 goals in the Serie A last year. His ability to bring the ball out if defence, combined with the pure savagery of his aerial prowess make him a good offensive weapon in dire situations, but his best quality has to be his ability to read the game and attack the ball only when the opponent makes an error.
Ogbonna is an absolute monster of a defender and now he has the chance to prove himself to the world with one of the most refined Juventus sides in recent memory.
Verdict: 6/10. He might be a good player, but with Juve’s three-man defence, he isn’t really an improvement on Leonardo Bonnuci.
The deals are done at this point and all we can really do is wait and see if this rejuvenated Old Lady can challenge Europe once again.