Thiago Motta held his first press conference as the new Juventus coach today alongside club directors Maurizio Scanavino and Cristiano Giuntoli. Here are three things we learned about the Old Lady’s transfer strategies.
The most obvious thing emerging from Motta’s first press conference as the new Juventus coach is that the Bianconeri will make three more signings this summer. This, at least, is their plan.
Giuntoli said that after Juan Cabal, the Old Lady would try to get one new player in each position, so one defender, one midfielder, and one attacker.
The names, on paper, are already known: Jean-Clair Todibo for the defence, Teun Koopmeiners in the middle of the park and a winger like Jadon Sancho or Karim Adeyemi.
Motta refused to discuss any potential new signing. When asked a direct question about Koopmeiners, he replied that he would not talk about players under contract with another club. Fair enough.
On the other hand, the new Juventus coach did talk about two Juventus players who may leave this summer: Federico Chiesa and Matias Soulé. The ex-Italy international gave very short answers about the pair, saying that the Italian is “a strong player” and that Soulé “is training well.”
Multiple reports claim that Motta is open to selling Chiesa and would be happy to work with Soulé. However, the club must sell the Argentinean to the best bidder to raise funds for new purchases, such as Koopmeiners and/or Albert Gudmundsson.
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Motta spent more time discussing new signings Douglas Luiz and even 18-year-old talent Vasilije Adzic, suggesting that he already has a plan for them. Meanwhile, Chiesa and Soulé’s futures in Turin remain uncertain.
Last but not least, Giuntoli said something pretty interesting about players who are not part of Motta’s project. Contrary to what happened last summer, with Leonardo Bonucci and other unwanted players, nobody will be forced to train separately this time around, at least on paper.
“I want to clarify that all players are part of Juventus and extraordinary footballers,” he said.
“We’ll make our assessments at the end of the transfer window, keeping a competitive team and being sustainable.”