Juventus have one of the most talented young squads in Serie A, and the talent is beginning to shine through in the 2024/25 season after the appointment of Thiago Motta to replace Max Allegri.
Whereas Allegri’s antiquated and mind-numbingly ultra-defensive style threatened the development of young stars – and even cost the club a few of them – Motta turned Bologna into a Champions League side by getting the most out of hidden gems like Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee.
Motta’s biggest success is attacking midfielder Kenan Yildiz, who has become the new face of Juventus alongside striker Dusan Vlahovic and new defensive midfielder Teun Koopmeiners.
But Yildiz was already a gem for Juve last season, as was Andrea Cambiaso, who has now joined Yildiz as one of the big stars of the future in Turin who is getting serious looks from around European football.
According to a report from Nicolo Schira, Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli views Cambiaso as an unsellable asset to the Bianconeri and even rejected a transfer offer of 35 million euros from Aston Villa last summer.
Juve swung a big swap deal with Villa to acquire Douglas Luiz, and the Lions were also keen on Matias Soule, who eventually moved to Serie A rivals Roma to join forces with another left-footed Argentinian talent with Juventus roots, Paulo Dybala.
Aston Villa’s interest in Cambiaso isn’t surprising, though it says a lot about Juve backing up their word to never sell Cambiaso that they weren’t even willing to take 35 million for him.
Real Madrid were loosely linked to Cambiaso in the Italian press dating back to last season, and while Schira says that Madrid are still monitoring Cambiaso, the fact that he also reports the player dreams of being a future Bianconeri captain tells you everything about where his heart lies.
It’s not often players decline Real Madrid, but I would believe in an instant that Cambiaso would. With how much fight he gives on the pitch to win the ball defensively, carry the ball offensively, come through in the clutch, battle in one-on-ones, and play any position on the pitch, you can tell he bleeds black and white.
