Taking a look at Juventus’ moves late in the transfer window during this era

Last month marked one of the most exciting periods of a transfer window that Juventus fans could have possibly hoped for. There were happy moments with the Federico Bernardeschi, Douglas Costa, and Wojciech Szczesny signings becoming official, and the less than happy ones with Leonardo Bonucci surprisingly leaving the club. The point is, there was lots to talk about as a Juventus fan.

This past week has been less exciting, for better or for worse. Unreliable sources have been throwing out occasional player links, but aside from that there hasn’t been much to talk about in Juventus-land. What I am going to be looking at today, is whether or not we should be excited about the final few weeks of the transfer window or not, based on our history at this time. We will be looking at the signings of significance after August 8th.

To keep it relevant, we can start with the summer of 2011. This window was a transfer resurgence of some sorts, as many quality players were brought in such as Arturo Vidal, Stephan Lichtsteiner, and Mirko Vucinic. Those signings were done early though, let’s look at the later ones.

Summer 2011 Players brought in after August 8th:

Eljero Elia (August 31st - €9 million from HSV) - A great opening case to start with. A near-deadline signing that went completely wrong. Elia never impressed at Juventus as he was never able to turn his skill with the ball into any sort of productivity. His time at Juventus was short as he was sold to Werder Bremen the following summer for a fraction of the price at €5.5 million.

Emanuele Giaccherini (August 25th - €7.25 million from Cesena) - A depth piece, and a decent one at that. Giaccherini at one point was getting regular starts on the Italian National Team when he wasn’t getting them at Juventus. A decent signing that made 52 appearances for Juventus, that moved to Southampton two years later for around the price he came for at €7.5 million.

Summer 2011 Players sold after August 8th: None significant

Summer 2012 Players brought in after August 8th:

Manolo Gabbiadini (August 24th - €11 million from Atalanta) - Manolo was brought in and immediately sent on loan, then sent on loan again the following year. He never made a Juventus appearance, even though there were times where it very much seemed like we could have used him. Instead, he was sold permanently to Sampdoria two years later for €11.5 million, and is now plying his trade in the Premier League for Southampton.

No significant players sold after August 8th, 2012.

No significant players brought in after August 8th, 2013

Summer 2013 Players sold after August 8th:

Alessandro Matri (August 30th - €11 million to Milan) - Highway robbery, to be perfectly blunt. Milan made a panic buy that never worked out for them, as he bounced around on loan (including back to us) until he left on a free transfer to Sassuolo last summer. He scored a single goal in 19 total appearances for the club. A great move on Juventus’ part and proof that sometimes desperate teams can be taken advantage of late in the window.

Nothing significant after August 8th, 2014.

Late-Summer 2015 in:

Alex Sandro (August 20th - €26 million from Porto) - The less sought after Brazilian fullback from Porto turned out to be the better one. Alex Sandro has cemented himself in the conversation for best left back in the world, and was brought in as a steal late in the transfer window.

Juan Cuadrado (August 25th - €1.8 million loan fee from Chelsea) - Juan was brought in late in the window after an unsuccessful first six months at Chelsea. He performed okay in his first season here, at the very least providing good depth off the bench.

Hernanes (August 31st - €13 million from Inter) - The inspiration for this article, and the proof that sometimes not panicking and standing pat is better than scrambling and making a last-second move. Juventus was betting on getting Lazio-Hernanes, but instead they got Inter-Hernanes, making this a failed transfer. He spent a year and a half at the club before moving to China for €8 million, which was a lot more than anyone expected him to fetch.

Late-Summer 2015 out:

Kingsley Coman (August 30th - 2-year loan w/ option to buy to Bayern) - Coman actually started the first game for Juventus, perhaps as a chance to showcase him to potential suitors, before Bayern picked him up in what was a fair deal for a relatively unproven player. The option was picked up and he is now a Bayern player for a total of €28 milllion. A solid deadline sale.

Late-Summer ‘16 in:

Juan Cuadrado (August 31st - €5 million loan fee with €20 million option to buy from Chelsea) - Juan impressed enough to be brought back, but it did take a while. His move became permanent when Juve won the league, and now it seems like even if he were to move later this summer, it would be for a slight profit.

Late-Summer ‘16 out:

Paul Pogba (August 9th - €105 million to Manchester United) - Who can forget about Paul Pogba? He came for free, contributed so much during his time here, and left us with money to cover the purchase of Gonzalo Higuain. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.

Simone Zaza (August 28th - €5 million loan fee to West Ham) - After fighting for his place in preseason, there just wasn’t a place for Simone Zaza in Juventus’ squad, and he had to be offloaded.

In the past six years, it marks 7 significant players in for a total of around €90 million, and 4 significant players out for a total of €150 million. The past shows that Beppe isn’t afraid to throw some money around at the end of the window. The only huge sale that came later in the window is Paul Pogba, so that could be either comforting (“it’s only one player”) or scary (“Pogba left late so Dybala could too”) for those who are worried about Dybala leaving.

What can be gathered from this is that there has been a trend for more and more moves in the recent past, especially over the last three years. This could be an indicator that Marotta may be saving a few things for later in the window.

Beppe had his share of late-hits with Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro, but also had his misses with Eljaro Elia and Hernanes. My thoughts are that pressing needs should not be left for late in the window, but luxury players that won’t be relied on as much can. That way, if they don’t work out then there isn’t much harm done.

My prediction for how Juve will treat the rest of the transfer window is that I think they’ll bring in a cheaper depth midfielder with a physical presence. I wouldn’t rule out another winger joining, such as Keita Balde, I think we’ll see a decent amount of offloading, either on loan like Zaza, or outright like Matri, if there are any takers for the fringe midfielders such as Sturaro, Lemina, and Rincon.