Juventus are safely going to the Champions League next season and were at least able to get a point in this one, thanks to a late goal from Adrien Rabiot, but this result was far from a positive one for the Bianconeri
Salernitana are already relegated from Serie A, and yet the supposed third-best team in Italy could not beat them; they were even outplayed, truly.
Juventus drew Salernitana 1-1 on Sunday in Serie A, leaving more questions than answered for a handful of Juve players whose futures at the club are very much in doubt.
Here are five men on Juventus who were so underwhelming at the Allianz Stadium that they may have taken one step towards the exit door.
CM Weston McKennie
Although Weston McKennie has actually had a strong season for the Bianconeri with seven assists, his play has fallen off a cliff ever since he didn’t get the contract extension he wanted from the club.
There are rumblings Juventus could cash in on McKennie for the right offer, and if someone like Manchester United wants to throw a whole bunch of money at a limited squad player, Juve aren’t going to say no.
Juventini have always been skeptical of McKennie, because despite his hard work and improved performances in 2023/24, he’s never had enough technical ability to truly look like a starting Juventus midfielder.
Hooked at the half after one of the lousiest individual performances of the entire Serie A season, McKennie is drawing the ire of fans for a perceived lack of effort. That certainly doesn’t bode well for his future in Turin.
CB Federico Gatti
Juventus fans love Federico Gatti, but he is yet another hard-working, relatively young player whose actual quality doesn’t quite fit the Bianconeri.
With Juventus linked to legitimate top-class Serie A center backs Riccardo Calafiori and Alessandro Buongiorno, Gatti’s future may be pointing towards the exit sign.
Furthermore, Thiago Motta apparently isn’t a fan of Gatti’s, so he could easily replace him with the younger and better Calafiori, who some will argue is already the best defender in the league. (Bremer is among those who has something to say about that.)
Gatti’s biggest contribution in this game against Salernitana was to take bizarre shots from distance and lose track of his marker on set pieces.
ST Moise Kean
Moise Kean has been thoroughly inconsistent and very disappointing since returning to Juventus, and it may be time for the Bianconeri to let the 24-year-old striker go somewhere else.
Also hooked at the half, Kean lost possession too easily and offered no goal threat to the Salernitana keeper. Dusan Vlahovic, who struggled himself, needs a better striker partner.
CB Daniele Rugani
Daniele Rugani apparently has a contract extension offer on the table, but with an expiring contract, it’s clear to many Juventus fans that the team needs to let him go.
Although Rugani is a better depth option than some fans will say, he hasn’t been good enough for Juve for a long time and is one of Serie A’s most disappointing prospects. He can be a decent starter somewhere else, but Juve want someone better.
LM Filip Kostic
Filip Kostic was a signing Juventus should not have made. He’s a great athlete and works hard, but he makes so many wayward crosses and shots that an elite side like Juve cannot afford the wide margin of error of his end product.
Juventus seem to be increasingly frustrated with Kostic and are almost guaranteed to sell him, in the hopes they can find someone willing to offer something significant on the transfer market.
In this match vs. Salernitana, Kostic literally created nothing for the Bianconeri during the entire first half before being subbed off. He may be their worst attacking player, if he can even be considered an attacker.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.