With the summer transfer merry-go round in full swing, Juventus have already gone about bolstering their attack for the new season, with the additions of the exciting young forward Paolo Dybala from Palermo, and the impending arrival of Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic from Atletico Madrid.
Dybala joined the Turin giants for a fee of €32 million on a five year contract. In what was a breakout 2014-15 season for the 21 year old, he scored 13 goals and had a hand in 10 assists for the Rosanero. Mandzukic, who jetted into Turin yesterday, looks set to join the Bianconeri for a fee of £13.6m on a four year deal. The 29-year-old netted 20 times for Atletico in all competitions last campaign.
On the other side of the coin, it looks like last season’s talismanic figure Carlos Tevez is set to leave the club and return to his boyhood team of Boca Juniors. Tevez, who has a year to run on his contract, has informed Juve of his desire to return back to Argentina and play for Boca where he scored 38 goals in 110 appearances between 2001 to 2004.
The 31-year-old who signed for the Old Lady from Manchester City in 2012 for £10 million has become an integral part of a dominant Juventus team, scoring 50 goals in 95 appearances, winning two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia over a hugely successful two year period.
Last season’s top scorer in Serie A will leave a gaping hole up front for Juve, loosing not only his goal scoring prowess, but his tenacity, willingness to work without the ball, mazy dribbling and ability to create and assist.
It has also been speculated that Spanish target man Fernando Llorente could be sold to accommodate the signing of Mandzukic, who has offers from AS Monaco, Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg according to Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio.
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Llorente, who has two years to run on his contract, had a below-par season, finding the back of the net just nine times in 45 appearances and falling out of favour with manager Masimilliano Allegri towards the back end of the season due to the emergence of Alvaro Morata.
The two potential in’s-and-out’s symbolise like for like replacements, but will Juve be better or worse off in the strikers department going into the new season?
The Argentine’s Dybala and Tevez are two eerily similar players, both in stature and style. They are both direct, versatile strikers can dribble at pace, have bags of tricks, capable of creating opportunities for team-mates and have the desire to press the ball.
Dybala is young and still a work in progress but has enormous potential to reach the same dizzy heights as his fellow pint sized Argentine striking compatriots Tevez and Sergio Aguero. The expectations of playing for Juventus compared to Palermo are something the Argentine will need to contend with, so its crucial he hits the ground running in his new environment.
El Apache’s reliability in front of goal means Dybala has huge shoes to fill to carry the heavy scoring burden responsibility that the experienced Tevez thrived on. Dybala will be assisted by the rangy target man Mandzukic who has had previous fruitful stints at Atletico, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg.
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Mandzukic has a superior goal scoring record in recent years to Llorente and also possess greater mobility, work rate, stamina as well as a street fighter mentality who never shy’s away from a physical scrap. The Croatian represents an upgrade on Llorente and his arrival has already delighted Allegri praising the strikers character and his adaptability, highlighting his goal scoring success in both Spain and Germany.
The signing of the Mandzukic continues a trend of the Croatian joining the loosing Champions League finalists from the previous season, having joined Bayern after they were defeated by Chelsea in 2012, Atletico after falling to Real Madrid in 2014, and of course Juventus following their loss to Barcelona in 2015.
Depending on how quickly the two new signings integrate and adapt, Dybala, Mandzukic and Morata will equate to the strongest strike force in Serie A, and if all fit will hand Allegri a selection dilemma as to who should lead the line for the Bianconeri in their quest for further domestic glory.
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