Grading all Juventus transfers for the month of July
By John Vaccaro
Signing Matthijs de Ligt: A+
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that I was absolutely thrilled when Juve’s move for Matthijs de Ligt became official. I wrote about him as somebody Juve should target in January and this summer and about why Juve should outbid PSG for him. I have no doubt that he is a perfect fit for Juventus right now and in the future.
There was no more important position for Juventus to address this summer than center back.
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Leonardo Bonucci was a major liability last season and when him or Chiellini were injured Juventus couldn’t trust Daniele Rugani to perform. Now that will absolutely not be an issue.
De Ligt will slide right into the starting lineup and form one of the world’s best center back pairings alongside Chiellini. Bumping Bonucci to the bench will also help solve the squad’s depth issue. Having him, Rugani, and Demiral available to rotate the starters out will give Juve plenty of flexibility to keep de Light and Chiellini rested for their Champions League matches.
De Ligt also represents hope for the future of Juve’s defense. He is a perfect candidate to take over for Chiellini when he decides to retire, both because of his defensive talent and because of the leadership he showed while captaining a young Ajax squad to a Champions League semifinal.
Juventus didn’t have anybody who could provide either of these qualities before and while de Ligt isn’t the same level of defender as Chiellini yet, he has shown plenty of signs that he one day could be. He also could easily be handed the captain’s armband once Chiellini is ready to give it up.
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De Ligt was the most important signing I thought Juventus needed to make this summer and there was just about nothing Juventus could have done to ruin the month of July after bringing him in.