Juventus Falls Short; Add insult to injury as trouble strikes from abroad
For Juventus, adding insult to injury comes straight from Spain. After four Serie A matchdays, the Bianconeri have yet to score their first league goal by a striker (winger Edon Zhegrova scored two in the away game against Sassuolo; with defenders Bremer and Gatti and midfielders Koopmeiners and Nico Gonzalez each having one). Meanwhile, however, one of the “outcasts” from Luciano Spalletti’s roster seems to have found a new scoring streak elsewhere. And we’re not talking about Dusan Vlahovic, who’s already been quite effective in Turkey.
Since September 1, in fact, Jonathan David has been on loan at Atlético Madrid, and his impact in La Liga is boosting his stock. The Canadian forward, who scored just 8 goals in 36 total appearances with Juventus in Serie A, has already netted two in as many league appearances with the Colchoneros. After scoring on his debut away at Real Sociedad, he followed that up on Wednesday by opening the scoring in a 4-0 home win against Osasuna. It’s worth noting that in the first game, he played a total of just 30 minutes, while in the second, he played nearly 70. But this does little to ease the sense of frustration the Juventus camp is feeling during this extremely difficult start to the season.
Making the comparison between past and present even more delicate is the parallel story of Dusan Vlahovic, the other big name leaving Juventus’s attack. The Serbian center forward, who has joined Vincenzo Italiano’s Besiktas, has already shown that he has rediscovered his scoring touch in Turkey: four goals in three Super Lig matches, including a hat trick in the 6-2 victory over Corum and the decisive goal in the 2-1 Istanbul derby win over Milan Skriniar’s Fenerbahçe. A performance that stands in stark and embarrassing contrast to Juventus’ offensive struggles so far this season.
The paradox is that David had shown anything but encouraging signs in his very first weeks at Atlético. His official debut came on September 9 in the Champions League against Liverpool, with Simeone sending him onto the field in the 73rd minute with the score at 2-1 in favor of the opponents: in the 17 minutes plus stoppage time he had available, the Canadian touched the ball just nine times without ever taking a shot on goal. An almost imperceptible impact, which had fueled doubts about his ability to adapt to Cholo’s system. His subsequent appearances in La Liga, however, told a completely different story.
In any case, Juventus can still keep a very close eye on David’s resurgence in Madrid. In the background, in fact, there is a 25 million euro buyback option in favor of Atlético Madrid, included in the agreement that brought the Canadian to Spain on a free transfer. For the Bianconeri, a scenario in which the Canadian’s value rises enough to convince the Colchoneros to exercise the option would still represent a positive outcome: it would allow the club to profit from a player who never quite convinced in Turin, turning a loan deal into a concrete influx of funds into the club’s coffers.
