2022/23 Season Preview: Juventus

Having won nine consecutive league titles between 2012 and 2020, Juventus have since been on a steady slide away from the high standards they are accustomed to.

The Old Lady have now finished fourth in back-to-back seasons but their recruitment in the last six months suggests there is a plan to reclaim their place at the top of Italian football sooner rather than later.

Review of Juventus’ 2021/22 season

The return of Massimiliano Allegri inspired confidence for the 2021/22 season but Juventus didn’t show any real signs of improvement on the pitch.

Ultimately the ageing big-name players and the lack of quality in the squad wound Juve up in fourth place for the second straight Serie A season with even fewer points than the previous campaign.

They didn’t fare better in other competitions, suffering a surprise Round of 16 exit against Villarreal and got knocked out of the Coppa Italia to round up a poor season by Juventus’ very high standards.

State of affairs

The winter arrival of Dusan Vlahovic gave the club some much-needed impetus last season and they have recruited well in the summer transfer window so far to build on that momentum.

In Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria, Juventus continues a tradition of signing high-quality free agents and optimism is high in Turin that the Bianconeri might be heading back to the top.

However, in the process of renewing the squad, there was a large exodus of well-known names which comes with a level of uncertainty. Either negatively or positively, expect to see a very different Juventus in 2022/23.

Transfers: Ins & Outs

Juventus paid €41 million to sign Brazilian centre-back Gleison Bremer from Torino across town, Federico Chiesa signed permanently from Fiorentina for €40 million after a lengthy loan spell, 22-year-old left-back Andrea Cambiasso was signed for €8.5 million from relegated Genoa and of course, Pogba and Di Maria both joined the club as free agents.

Juventus made up for the loss of Mathijs De Ligt by moving big for Gleison Bremer from Torino AFP

The Old Lady balanced the books with the big-money sale of Matthijs de Ligt to Bayern Munich for €67 million, Merih Demiral joined Atalanta for €20 million and Rolando Mandragora moved to Fiorentina for €8.2 million.

Paulo Dybala led the big-name free agent departures followed by Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Bernadeschi, Douglas Costa and Aaron Ramsey, all of whom left the club for no transfer fee whatsoever.

Big question: Can Juventus reclaim their Serie A supremacy this season?

Due to the intentional nature of their rebuild thus far, it is more than likely that Juventus will be champions of Italy again in the near future but they would rather it be sooner rather than later.

The issue is, it might not happen this season because it is still very much early in the rebuild, they have recruited well but this is essentially a new team and could need time to gel.

The re-signing of Paul Pogba is crucial to Juventus' aspirations this season AFP

The injury to Paul Pogba just days after rejoining the club also doesn't do their chances any good as he is the anchor upon which this rebuild is hinged.

What would constitute a good season?

Although only the Scudetto would truly satisfy Juve fans, anything higher than fourth (where they have ended the last two seasons) in 2022/23 would go a long way in lifting their spirits.