Juventus duo set to leave the club at the end of the season - Reports
Juventus veterans Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon will leave the club at the end of the season upon the expiry of their contracts. The Bianconeri will reportedly not be offering the Italian duo new deals.
According to Sky Sports (via TuttoJuve), Juventus have decided against offering Chiellini and Buffon new contracts as they look to revamp their squad in the summer.
Juventus have endured a poor 2020-21 campaign under Andrea Pirlo. They were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the round-of-16 by Porto, and are currently third in Serie A.
The Old Lady will thus look to make significant changes to their squad in the summer, which will include letting go of the likes of Chiellini and Buffon.
Giorgio Chiellini joined Juventus in the summer of 2005, and has since gone on to become one of the greatest defenders of his generation. The Italian has made over 500 appearances for Juventus during his 16-year stay with the club.
Chiellini, however, has suffered from recurrent injuries recently and has made just 16 appearances in all competitions for Andrea Pirlo's side this season. Juventus already possess three quality options at centre-half in Leonardo Bonucci, Merih Demiral and Matthijs de Ligt.
Gianluigi Buffon, on the other hand, has left Juventus in the past to join PSG in 2018. After spending a season with the French giants, Buffon returned to Juventus in 2019.
The 43-year-old has been more than an adequate back-up goalkeeper this season, making 25 appearances for the club in all competitions. Juventus may be looking to sign a younger goalkeeper.
Juventus will look to replace Chiellini and Buffon with young talent that they can develop
Juventus have been known to sign top-quality free agents, and even older players good enough to play at an elite club. The Bianconeri have, however, changed their transfer strategy over the last couple of windows.
The club hierarchy have focused their efforts on signing young talents who have the potential to develop into top quality players.
Juventus have signed the likes of Weston McKennie, Dejan Kulusevski, Federico Chiesa and Matthijs de Ligt in recent years. They will look to replace Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon with young talents as well.