Juve, confidence in Motta is undermined: only Delneri has done worse

Turin, 27 January 2025 – Sixteen points behind Napoli leader, just 37 points in the standings, a figure better only than that of Delneri in 2011 (35). Thiago Motta has had a difficult first half of the season, with the Scudetto fight fading almost immediately, the Super Cup left on the road already in the semi-final and now a sprint for the Champions League places that is decidedly tight and not to be missed. Lazio, defeated by Fiorentina, is two points above, but from behind the Viola rises to minus one and the couple Bologna-Milan at minus three, with also the Roma recovering at minus seven. In short, from now until the end Thiago will have to guarantee access to the next Champions League, which also means cashing in substantial millions of euros in the budget to be used on the incoming market. Up to this point, the season has been extremely disappointing, especially in terms of results: only 8 victories in the league against Napoli's 17 and Inter's 15, which still has to recover the match with Fiorentina, and also the disastrous Milan won one match more than the Bianconeri, recovering in extremis Parma of Pecchia at San Siro. Even in terms of goals scored, the Juve suffers with 35 goals scored, a worse figure than the top five with Napoli at 37, Inter at 55, Atalanta at 48 and Lazio at 38. And if the attack is struggling, even the defense, which had been impenetrable at the start of the season, has shown some cracks with 19 goals conceded compared to Napoli's 15 and Inter's 18. Summing up, the Juve he scores little and concedes too many goals, which is why, also due to injuries, Joints is intervening with Costa, already called up, Veiga, today the medicals, plus another centre back who could be Todibo (Or Gochlidze).

Trust in Motta

The environment's trust in Thiago Motta is perhaps at an all-time low, the results speak for themselves, but the club does not expect any upsets. Juve never fires and it will happen again this time: full confidence in Motta. Giuntoli chose him and wanted him strongly and will not replace him, and also John Elkann wants to keep the course straight and move forward. It may not be news, but in frenetic football the first to pay are the coaches, especially with this delay in the championship and a Champions League fight that is getting tough. It must also be said that no one, between the owners and the management, asked Motta for the Scudetto in his first year, but there is a difference between staying in the slipstream until the end and being sixteen points behind already in January. Now the coach has no choice but to complete a convincing European campaign, try to win the Coppa Italia, at least to put a trophy in the cabinet and continue to push forward the project that started in June, and earn a place among the top four in the championship. The Champions League revenues, added to those of the Club World Cup, will give the opportunity to Joints to intervene again in the summer market to make Juve more competitive. But Motta must arrive in June in good shape and convincingly, so as not to further undermine the new course that today sees him in sensational delay even compared to Allegri, who dropped significantly in the second half of last year. He is not at risk of being fired, it must be said, but the turnaround in the second half of the season will have to be clear.

Vlahovic out? Possible, in June

Then there is the knot represented by Dusan Vlahovic. Benched immediately by Round Muani in Naples, the centre forward should regain his starting position against Benfica, but the future seems far from Turin. Negotiations for the renewal are at a standstill, new talks with the agent at the end of the market, Giuntoli and Motta are evaluating a hypothetical transfer for June, when Vlahovic's contract will be one year away from expiring: obviously, it is necessary to avoid a free transfer and the only way is to sell and make a capital gain. Juve's proposal does not change, that is, to spread the last year at 12 million, but for now Dusan does not seem to want to think about it and without his yes, a sacrifice is inevitable. It will not be in January, the Juve cannot remain short in the department and it is difficult for satisfactory economic offers to arrive, but in June all the discussions could change and Giuntoli, in any case, will have to start considering offers of even 40 million euros. Low bar if you think about when Dusan arrived in Turin, but today - with a player one year away from expiring and underperforming - more plausible and in any case useful for generating a nest egg to reinvest to rebuild the attack, perhaps starting with the confirmation of Kolo Muani. In the meantime, Joints try to complete the January market. After Coast, Muani and Veiga, the director tries to take a central defender. Motta appreciates Jean Clair a lot Todibo, so much so that he even called him, but there are still unknowns about his form and the conditions of sale in January, so the Saba option should not be overlooked Gochlidze, Empoli centre back coming off a great first half of the season. Instead, he leaves, Danilo. Consensual termination for the Brazilian who should return to his homeland to Flamengo after having closed the contract in force with Juve. No Napoli who has courted him for a long time but most likely the former captain did not want to wear another shirt in Italy other than the black and white one. Finally, some news about David Hanko, Juve's target for June. The Feyenoord defender is also being courted by Chelsea in the Premier League, but Juve should be ahead in talks with the player and are still ahead for the summer transfer window.

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