How Juventus will line up with Pogba and Di Maria
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 11 Jul 2022 04:32 CDT
- 3 min read
Juventus have completed two impressive pieces of business by signing Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria as they seek to regain their dominance of Italian football.
Having won nine titles in succession, the Turin side have finished a lowly fourth in Serie A in successive seasons, first under Andrea Pirlo then with Massimiliano Allegri in charge. It has been a startling fall from grace for a side that seemed untouchable and even threatened to become the best in Europe.
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Now they have added two proven winners to their ranks. Pogba returns to the club as a free agent, having notably helped France to the World Cup in 2018, while Di Maria makes his first foray into Italian football after an illustrious career playing for the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and PSG.
These are signings designed to immediately eradicate Juventus’ problems, but just how will they fit into Allegri’s plans?
How Pogba and Di Maria fit in at Juventus
Pogba is a straightforward problem to solve. He struggled to fit in effectively at Manchester United in part because they did not play the midfield three that he favours. He will likely find that at Juve, where he will team up with Manuel Locatelli and Denis Zakaria. He will play in his preferred role on the left of the midfield three.
Di Maria may have a more fluid role in Juve’s forward line. The former PSG player still has enough about him to feature on the left, but look for him to also be used on the right. With Federico Chiesa still coming back from a serious injury, it is likely that the Argentine is used in that role on a semi-regular basis, particularly at the beginning of the season.
He will primarily be charged with linking up with centre forward Dusan Vlahovic, while he will be eager to get more game time after regularly being left on the bench by PSG last season.
With Pogba and Di Maria in their ranks, Juventus are now looking an altogether more formidable side.
