Keep, sell, or loan: How Juventus should handle their squad this month
By John Vaccaro
Defenders:
Giorgio Chiellini
We’re already to the second slide and the decisions still haven’t gotten particularly complicated. Giorgio Chiellini is still an elite defender when healthy and will be welcomed back to Juve’s starting lineup once his ACL heals. There is a 0% chance Juve lets him go any time soon and probably an equally small chance that he retires elsewhere.
Keep
Leonardo Bonucci
At this time last year, I probably wouldn’t have been too upset if Juve had sold Leonardo Bonucci again. He hadn’t been playing well at all and I still hadn’t forgiven him for the AC Milan debacle. This year, he has absolutely redeemed himself. He has been Juve’s most reliable defender and he has stepped into Giorgio Chiellini’s role as the team’s leader during his absence. Bonucci’s time at Juve might not be as permanent as his long-time defensive partner, but he certainly isn’t going anywhere right now.
Keep
Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt hasn’t been playing with the regularity he’d like right now, but that’s because Juve is being cautious with his shoulder injury while they can. Juve paid big money for him over the summer and are expecting big things from him in the second half of the season. He’s an important piece of the future of this club’s defense and will be staying here for at least the next few years.
Keep
Alex Sandro
We haven’t seen quite the same level of play out of Alex Sandro as fans would have hoped for this season, but he remains Juve’s only viable option at left back. Mattia De Sciglio isn’t as talented and can’t be trusted to stay healthy. Sandro’s status here might change depending on what moves Juve makes during the next couple of transfer windows and how Luca Pellegrini looks in the second half of his loan spell at Cagliari, but Sandro is definitely safe for now.
Keep