Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri insists the Bianconeri are not title favourites and aim to finish in the top four this season: ‘We have many young players.’
Juventus secured a 1-0 win over Milan at San Siro on Sunday night and are now two points below leaders Inter. Allegri has been reiterating that his team are not involved in the title race, saying that Napoli, Inter and Milan will fight for the Scudetto in the 2023-24 campaign.
The Italian tactician was asked why Juventus should not be considered among title favourites despite having big players like Dusan Vlahovic, Adrien Rabiot and Federico Chiesa and having the highest wage bill in Serie A this season.
“The main reason is that Juventus finished third last season. Napoli are the defending champions, so they are favourite. Inter are a strong team,” he said at a press conference attended by Football Italia.
“At Juventus, we have followed the club’s guidance. We have many young players. A guy born in 2005 [Dean Huijsen] made his debut tonight. We had three guys born in 2005 on the bench, I think two more were born in 2003. Even Vlahovic was born in 2000.
“It’s a team with an important future ahead, but we need patience. We must finish in the top four to play in the Champions League next season. As for the wage bill, probably they are good when it comes to signing contracts, but we are not concerned about this.”
Juventus have kept six clean sheets in nine Serie A games this season and will face Verona at the Allianz Stadium in the next league match on Saturday. The Bianconeri have scored 15 goals in nine matches so far this season, conceding six times.