Massimiliano Allegri says Juventus are prepared to replace Matthijs de Ligt if he leaves and is delighted Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba have joined the club.
The Italian tactician held a press conference at the Allianz Stadium ahead of Juventus’ tour in the USA, starting next week.
Football Italia attended the press conference at the Allianz Stadium.
“It’s a pleasure and an honour to participate in the Soccer Champions Tour,” said Allegri.
“These are important tests. Despite being friendlies, Madrid, Barcelona and Chivas are teams with great technical value, so these games are very important for us.
“Arthur, Federico Chiesa and Kaio Jorge are injured and won’t travel with us. I believe McKennie will have a chance to have a great season at Juventus.
“He is an important Juventus player. Unfortunately, he missed the last four months of last season, he’ll be part of the team that will participate in these games.
“Last year, we didn’t even win a trophy. The signing of Pogba, Di Maria and Federico Gatti, a young player, and the recovery of Chiesa and McKennie will make Juventus more competitive,” the Tuscan boss continued.
“It’s not easy to win, but we must do everything to win the title and do well in the Champions League. The first three months of the season are crucial.
“Pogba and Di Maria are important players technically. They raise the technical level and take the responsibility off other players. They will raise the level and I am happy they’ve arrived.
“Paul arrived in the right way, with great determination and desire for revenge, he has returned home and he has a different physical and technical level.”
Which are his plans for the midfield following the arrival of Pogba?
“We have five midfielders and Arthur is out, we also have Nicolò Fagioli and Fabio Miretti, then Nicolò Rovella and Filippo Ranocchia. We’ll make a decision about these players who need to play a few games to see their level.
Matthijs de Ligt could leave Juventus, although the Old Lady has rejected Bayern Munich’s first offer for the Dutch centre-back. However, the Bavarians are expected to knock on Juventus’ door again with an improved offer.
“As you all know, yesterday there was a meeting with Bayern Munich, but at the moment De Ligt remains a Juventus player, he is training well.
“Right now, De Ligt is a Juventus player, the market is open until August 31, I am happy with what the club has done and if he [De Ligt] leaves, we’ll be ready to replace him in the best way,” said Allegri.
De Ligt is under contract with Juventus until 2024 but has made it clear that he is unwilling to extend his contract. He has already agreed personal terms with Bayern and Juventus are aware that they may have to sell their star defender for less than his €120m release clause.
How about Chiesa? When will he return to action?
“He should be back in mid-September. When there are these kinds of injuries, I always try to be cautious. We’ll be working to have him at his best from January.”