Five possible destinations for Samuel Umtiti in January

Juventus:

Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus are at the top of the Serie A table but one could argue if they have played like the Italian champions to reach the top. The team looks glum and lacks sturdiness in their play.

When Sarri returned to his homeland, he along with a pack of Marlboros and MS’s brought “Sarriball” to the Allianz Stadium. Sarriball, a high-intensity playing style that includes a high line, aggressive pressing and progressive pass-and-move football. When it comes off, the football played looks more like a video game than real life. Sadly, at Juventus, the former Napoli manager has been unsuccessful in ingesting the magic of Sarriball.

https://twitter.com/juventusfcen/status/1144216434366697472?lang=en

The defenders are the primary beginners in the Sarriball. The centre backs need to be quick on the ball and should have fitting passing abilities. The Old Lady has arguably the best centre back partnerships in Europe- Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. The defensive pillars who have held the Old Lady’s fortress for years but time waits for no man.

Chiellini is 34 and has shown signs of slowing down physically. An anterior cruciate ligament tear doesn’t help his cause whereas Bonucci, 32 still has the calibre but misses his partner in crime. Both the legends are running out of time and fuel and to avoid such a problem, Juve invested in Ajax’s wunderkind Matthijs de Ligt in the summer. However, the young Dutch has not settled well at life in Turin and looks the complete opposite of what he was a year ago at Ajax.

Samuel Umtiti brings loads of experience and could be the key to solve the defensive problems for the Italian club. Just like Guardiola’s tiki-taka, Umtiti will thrive under Sarriball. Umtiti has a trait of turning up in the big games and considering Juventus’ Champions League desires he could be handy in those crucial ties. Umtiti can also feature as a part of back three giving the Sarri more options to alter the shape.