- 7 hours ago
Five Juventus players who could leave in January
Carlo Garganese
- 26 Dec 2022 10:56 GMT
- 4 min read
Juventus are enduring a miserable 2022-23 season, both on and off the pitch.
The Bianconeri are already almost certainly out of the Scudetto race, with a top-four finish their objective for a third season in a row.
Juve also were humiliatingly eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages, with just one win and three points from six games.
The club is also under investigation for alleged financial mismanagement, which led to the entire board resigning last month.
The January transfer window is expected to be quiet in terms of incoming players, but there is the chance that some current members of the squad could be moved on.
Here we take a look at the Juve players who could leave in January.
Adrien Rabiot
Adrien Rabiot’s contract at Juventus expires at the end of the season and it is looking increasingly likely he will leave in 2023.
Rabiot’s outstanding World Cup means his salary demands have increased further, making a new deal even less likely.
Juventus manager Max Allegri would like to keep Rabiot until the end of the season as he has been one of the team’s few good performers in 2022-23.
But there is strong interest from the Premier League, especially from Man Utd, and Juve could decide to sell to avoid losing him for nothing.
Weston McKennie
Juventus are likely to sell a central midfielder in January as they have far too many players in this department.
The emergence before the World Cup of youngsters Fabio Miretti and Nicolo Fagioli has seen McKennie’s status take a hit.
Unpopular with most Juve fans, McKennie does have a lot of interest in the Premier League. Tottenham transfer chief Fabio Paratici - who signed him for Juventus in 2020 - is interested.
Mattia De Sciglio
Juventus are in the market for a new right-back in January, and plan to sign a full-back on either side in 2023.
Left back Alex Sandro will certainly leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, while De Sciglio’s future is also very much under scrutiny.
De Sciglio is a favourite of coach Max Allegri, despite starting just four games this season, but it is widely accepted he is not up to the level required.
A swap deal involving exiled Roma right-back Rick Karsdorp has been suggested by some, but there is nothing concrete to that yet.
Kaio Jorge
Young Brazilian striker Kaio Jorge suffered a rupture to his patella tendon in February and is just working his way back to fitness.
The 20-year-old is expected to return to playing in the coming weeks. There is the possibility he will be loaned out to a smaller Serie A side or Serie B team for the second half of the campaign.
However, it is more likely that he will play with Juventus’ second team in Serie C so the Bianconeri can monitor his rehabilitation close up.
Leonardo Bonucci
Leonardo Bonucci has lost his place in the Juventus starting XI this season, having seen his form dramatically dip in 2022.
He has become increasingly injury-prone and is starting to show his age as he approaches his 36th birthday.
He is unlikely to leave Juventus in January as the Bianconeri do not have much depth at centre back.
But it can’t be completely ruled out as Bonucci is Italy captain and still has his sights on playing at Euro 2024. The qualifiers begin in March and he needs to be playing regularly.
