With Federico Chiesa ruled out for the rest of the season, both Juventus and Italy must think about replacing the talented winger for the next few months.
The 24-year-old’s campaign is over as Juventus confirmed an ACL tear for the former Fiorentina star who sustained a knee injury against Roma yesterday.
Chiesa will undergo surgery in the coming days missing the second part of the season with the Bianconeri and Italy’s World Cup play-offs against North Macedonia and possibly Turkey or Portugal.
Chiesa has scored four goals and delivered four assists in 18 appearances across all competitions this season and both the Bianconeri and the Azzurri must find a valuable replacement in the second part of the campaign.
Season over for Chiesa as Juventus confirm serious knee injury
Chiesa’s injury could mean Dejan Kulusevski won’t leave Turin in January.
The Swede has been linked with a move to Tottenham, but he is also the natural replacement of Chiesa. Yesterday he replaced his teammate and scored the equaliser against Roma.
It remains to be seen if the Bianconeri will try to sign a new player in the winter transfer window, but either Moise Kean or Weston McKennie can play as attacking wingers, the natural role of Federico Bernardeschi, who is also part of the Bianconeri squad.
Bear in mind that Juventus have a tiny transfer budget and can’t sign new players permanently in January.
Bernardeschi could also replace Chiesa with the national team, although Domenico Berardi should become the regular starter now that Chiesa has been forced to the sidelines.
The Sassuolo featured in Italy’s starting XI in the first few games at the Euros last summer, with Chiesa on the bench.
Berardi has been in fine form this season, having scored ten goals and delivered nine assists in 19 Serie A games.
The 27-year-old made his senior Italy debut in June 2018 and has scored six goals in 23 appearances with the Azzurri.