Juventus are in an interesting spot this summer, as, all in all, they don’t have many glaring holes to fill to be very competitive. It appears that one of the mandates for their new front office is to keep hold of their best players and youngsters and avoid regrets. Like Dean Huijsen and Matias Soulé, who were sacrificed for acquisitions that didn’t live up to expectations. On the other hand, the flaws and issues of their roster are challenging to solve.

It’d surely be better if their attack wasn’t formed by Dusan Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani entering next season. Even though they technically should, as they aren’t too similar, they can’t co-exist on the pitch. But that’s a detail in the whole picture. It generally shouldn’t, but in this case, the economic aspects and long-term planning take precedence over the technical elements. It would be catastrophically bad to be still relying on a striker on his way out in a Bosman move in a year, with all that entails in terms of motivation and commitment, and another on loan with an uncertain future.

The Vlahovic Problem

Damien Comolli was diplomatic when asked about the Serb, who is the number one problem. He has actually been that for several executives and at least a pair of coaches. It became clear a couple of years into his spell that he wasn’t going to be who they thought he would be when they splurged to acquire him from Fiorentina. His comically large contract, thanks to annual incremental increases, is the lasting gift of the disastrous final years of Fabio Paratici and Andrea Agnelli.

Their new execs can get more aggressive than their previous ones, given the shorter time left on the striker’s deal. They should make it clear that a renewal is a no-go. His performances and attitude don’t even justify more reasonable wages. However, there’s also no reason why a player in his prime who surely has a high consideration of himself should leave money on the table. That’s totally understandable on his part. It’s not like his camp extorted his salary in nefarious ways. If he’s fine playing second-fiddle and cashing in fully for an entire season and then seeing what the market offers next summer, as La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests, there’s not a lot the club can do. They can threaten to freeze him out, although it might be an empty threat as they’d be putting a lot of dough on the shelf, and be open to selling him for a meager fee, but that would still not ensure the desired outcome.

Assessing Kolo Muani

The likely long impasse will be highly detrimental. The FIFA Club World Cup bought Juventus another month, but it wouldn’t be surprising if, with the Vlahovic cloud casting its shadow, they ultimately didn’t keep Kolo Muani since they couldn’t come to terms with PSG. If they sense they have a shot at somebody great, they might give up for the Frenchman to avoid having three expensive players in a role when they really need one ace and a reliable deputy, preferably a youngster with potential. That’d be an awful distribution of resources.

The PSG loanee has done more than enough to deserve to stay permanently. However, his price tag and wages aren’t cheap either and are part of the equation. He actually wants to be there, which can’t be said for everybody. His reputation took a hit with whatever happened to him in the French capital. His track record at Eintracht Frankfurt was stellar, and he’s been fine in Turin. He brings a lot to the table. His only slump coincided with the final weeks of the Thiago Motta era, when the whole team was short-circuiting, and the start of the Tudor one, who initially preferred his teammate but eventually couldn’t deny the evidence.

The big question is whether he is a potent enough weapon for a side that wishes to chase something important. It’s a legitimate one. We might never know if he’s not embraced fully and given the opportunity to prove his worth for an entire season. On the other hand, he really might be their best shot at it, or rather, the most attainable.

The Rumored Targets

Every day, there are fresh reports about who Juventus are going to sign up front, from Jonathan David to Mateo Retegui, to Victor Osimhen, to even Viktor Gyokeres. It’s all well and good. Though if they are really big-game hunting as the chatter suggests, Cristiano Giuntoli would probably still be their head of football. That’s the type of summer he was setting up. Instead, it’s more likely than not that their revamped hierarchy will opt for smaller deals. It’d be a reasonable pivot. Their recent history suggests that spending big isn’t a guarantee of success. That’s regardless of how safe a lofty acquisition may appear on paper beforehand. Teun Koopmeiners is the latest example.

It’s far from a given, if not straight-up unlikely, that Juventus will have the stomach to make even a small splash before selling Vlahovic, which might take the whole summer and not happen at all, and after finding a way to retain Kolo Muani. If it’s the case, it should be a forward who complements the latter well. He’s not small, but he’s not exactly a massive physical presence. He could improve in keeping the ball up and the defender busy, opening lanes, and handling the dirty work.

The Most Logical Strategy

With or without Vlahovic, they should make sure the Frenchman sticks around for reasonable terms and go from there, finding a contributor who complements him well. Pristine goal poachers like David or Retegui wouldn’t be ideal fits. They should go a notch below, and target a colossus like, for instance, Lorenzo Lucca. There’s no shortage of that type with better upside abroad who could grow to the desired level over time.

Ironically enough, the guy who would best address their needs, has a somewhat manageable valuation and wages, and possesses adequate star power is Moise Kean. They really fumbled the way they used and groomed him, given how he was reborn and performed in Florence. A return to the scene of the crime is most likely a non-starter for him, despite their different front office and boss, also because he would have other juicy opportunities if he decided to leave Fiorentina, which he really shouldn’t.