Juventus Transfer Market: Luciano Spalletti Takes Everyone by Surprise After the Latest News on the Striker

On the eve of the high-profile friendly against Inter in Perth, a clear—and almost surprising—message from Luciano Spalletti has reached Juventus. The coach from Certaldo, during the press conference to preview the match, also spoke about the transfer market and did so with words that sound like a clear stance: the Old Lady doesn’t need a 20-goal striker to be competitive.

The results of the summer friendlies (three wins against Standard Liège, Nice, and Chelsea, plus a draw in the opener against Basel) show a team already capable of creating plays and finding solutions, according to Spalletti, who explains his vision for the game: “I think that with the players we have up front, we’ll surpass that number; it’s not important that just one player scores twenty. This year we’ll be playing on Thursdays and Sundays, so it will be natural to rotate the players—it won’t always be the same ones on the field.”

According to the coach, the signings made so far were designed precisely for this purpose: “Even without a physical center forward, we have players who can do very well in front of goal,” Spalletti adds. Alajbegovic is capable of scoring consistently; we all know Kolo Muani, and he’s another player who can score plenty of goals. All the other forwards already on the roster will have to share the responsibility for finishing chances. For now, we’re not worried; there’s no race against time.”

The attacking players currently on the roster are the (so far) confirmed Jonathan David, Arkadiusz Milik, Kenan Yildiz, Francisco Conceição, Edon Zhegrova, and Jeremie Boga; the returning Nico Gonzalez (whose future at Juve is far from certain); and the new arrivals Jeff Ekhator (already sidelined by injury), Randal Kolo Muani, and Kerim Alajbegovic.

With Dusan Vlahovic’s contract set to expire, Spalletti has lost his classic, powerful center forward. However, despite a rumor that has resurfaced in recent days—namely, the possibility of signing Joshua Zirkzee from Manchester United (while a deal for Parma’s Pellegrino, on the other hand, seems much more difficult)—the Tuscan coach has said he is ready to tackle the season with the players already at his disposal.