Morata to Barcelona & six Juventus players who could leave
Carlo Garganese
- 2 Jan 2022 13:49 GMT
- 4 min read
Juventus are enduring something of a disastrous season following the return of former coach Max Allegri.
The Bianconeri find themselves four points off the Champions League places and run the real risk of failing to qualify for Europe’s premier competition for the first time in over a decade.
Latest news
As a result, Juventus will certainly sign players in January. The two objectives are a central midfielder and an attacker.
But funds are low and they must first sell in order to buy.
Here are six players who could be sacrificed.
Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey was put on the transfer list this past summer as Juventus were desperate to get his hefty €7 million-a-year wages off their books.
However, the Welshman refused to leave Turin as he was unwilling to take a paycut.
The Bianconeri will try again to offload him in January, and will even be willing to accept no transfer fee just to let him go.
He has virtually been frozen out of the first team, having not featured since October or in Serie A since September. There is interest in the Premier League, including from Newcastle/
Dejan Kulusevski
Big things were expected from Dejan Kulusevski when Juventus beat off competition from Inter to sign Serie A’s 2019-20 Young Player of the Year.
However, he has proven to be a major flop so far in Turin, and former Sweden coach Sven-Goran Eriksson recently told The Italian Football Podcast that Allegri doesn’t rate the Sweden winger.
It is understood that if Juventus receive an acceptable bid they will consider selling Kulusevski in January. Both Arsenal and Tottenham are interested. Reports in the Italian media say that Arsenal are set to make a €30m bid in January. Meanwhile Spurs are considering their own offer given the presence of former Juventus transfer chief Fabio Paratici.
Arthur Melo
Arthur Melo’s transfer to Juventus has been a disaster for many reasons, but most damagingly his move is now being investigated by the Italian Financial Police.
It is alleged that his €72m transfer fee was deliberately inflated – and the same done for Miralem Pjanic’s 60m – when Juventus and Barcelona worked to move the players in the opposite direction last year. This was done in order to register a plusvalenza (capital gains) for both clubs.
On the pitch, Arthur has never got going. He has been struck by numerous injuries and Allegri doesn’t appear to trust him at all.
It is reported Juventus would be willing to let him go already in January, perhaps on loan initially. Arthur Melo's agent Federico Pastorello has also pubicly said that he will look for a new club for his client.
Adrien Rabiot
Aside from Manuel Locatelli, no other Juventus central midfielder is deemed unsellable so disappointing have all of the Bianconeri players in this area of the pitch been.
Adrien Rabiot is another player on a hefty €7m-a-year salary who has failed to justify how much he takes home.
A midfielder who doesn’t score or assist many and doesn’t particularly excel defensively either, Juventus would accept a suitable bid for the player. Again, the Premier League seems the most likely destination if a transfer happens. Both Newcastle and Chelsea have been linked.
Kaio Jorge
Kaio Jorge arrived at Juventus this past summer from Santos, hailed as one of the most promising young players in Brazilian football.
However, the 19-year-old has had precious little chance to showcase his talents as he has been afforded just six substitute appearances in Serie A totalling 44 minutes.
Allegri has been pretty clear that young players need to work their way up the pyramid and so a January loan move to a smaller Serie A club or even a Serie B side seems like the most likely scenario right now.
Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata has recently emerged as a player who could leave Juventus in January.
Barcelona want to sign Morata in January on an 18-month loan and it is widely reported that Morata has given his okay to the move.
However, Barca need to negotiate with both Juve and Atletico Madrid in order to make this happen. Morata is in the last six months of a two-year loan in Turin from Atletico.
Juventus would be open to letting Morata leave but only if they find a suitable replacement and receive the remaining money back from Barcelona that they paid for the loan.
