Is Signing Another Centerback In January Really That Necessary?

As a person who likes to sit back and let things develop in the news before jumping to conclusions, I have noticed two things since it was announced Giorgio Chiellini will be out for the next three months.

1. Stories about how Juventus will do without Chiellini.

2. Stories about what Juventus need to do on the transfer market because there isn't Chiellini patrolling in defense.

It's pretty logical that these are the two main camps that quickly evolved. It's likely the same case every time a player with the importance of somebody like Chiellini gets hurt around the time of the transfer window. "Oh, this guy got hurt? He's out for how long? Let me go get my game board and we can play Pin the Tail On the Potential Replacement!"

(Scenarios may or may not be what goes through the head of an Italian sport newspaper editor.)

But the main questions is this: Does Beppe Marotta and his crew of transfer brains really need to bring in somebody to cover for Chiellini?

The names as to why Juventus shouldn't sign a central defender in January are as follows: Martin Caceres and Luca Marrone. Those two defenders, both vastly underplayed compared to others with their relative skill levels, are the only two reserves Juve currently have. They're both young, but both in seriously need of playing time.

In a perfect world, Marrone and Caceres would be getting a lot more time on the field than they currently are. Heck, they could probably start for any number of teams in Italy. But the reality is, no matter how good they may, that they're bakcups behind three of the best defenders the country has to offer.

So, now with Chiellini on the mend, this is their time — and why signing somebody, who wouldn't play that much anyways, isn't exactly the most pressing need Juventus currently have.

We saw what the situation with six centerbacks was like. Why do it again? What's the point of signing somebody to basically replace Lucio when said player barely appeared on the field the last four months? Injuries happen, obviously. But Juventus have two of the most durable defenders in the league starting right now — part of the reason as to why Caceres and Marrone really haven't found consistent playing time at all so far this season.

And that might be the biggest reason why I'm not all that hot when it comes to signing another defender.

With the current crop of defenders, it's almost like Juve have the perfect number. It may not seem like it, but it does. Even with Chiellini out, I'm not all that freaked out about it — that's how much faith I have in both Caceres and Marrone. Sure, losing Giorgio sucks, but the vision of Marotta the past few years is to not only bring in quality, but bring in quality players behind the even better players. That's why players like Caceres and Marrone are basically sitting on the bench more often than not. That's why when somebody does get injured, another player is able to step in and the team doesn't miss a beat.

I'd say Marotta has done a pretty good job of that. The team is not only extremely good, but also extremely, extremely deep at pretty much every position there is. How many other teams can say they have a couple of backups in defense or midfield like Juventus currently has in its ranks?

/waits for responses/

/hears crickets/

So, again, I pose the question: Is signing another defender really all that necessary?

Eh, it might be in a sense that you'd rather be safe than scrambling to put together a backline in the thick of a season that has three games a week half the time. But, if that does happen and said player doesn't see the field, the complaint box that gets sent off to Beppe Marotta will be filled with notes about a worthless signing. Or maybe it won't. I'm not entirely sure.

But I do know this: Juventus have enough defenders — right now. This I know is true.