Juventus Women begins summer mercato with five signings over five-day span

Juventus Women celebrated the Coppa Italia victory over Roma on Sunday afternoon in Salerno. It was the positive moment that the Bianconere had been seeking to conclude a season that has seen a whole lot of interesting moments on its way to a Scudetto streak coming to an end.

By the end of the new work week, they had already started constructing next season’s roster.

Juve announced a brand new signing on Wednesday, on Thursday, on Friday and on Saturday — and they weren’t done there. The first two come from the same squad in France, Bordeaux, while the final one of the three has been one that has been anticipated ever since the middle of the January transfer window. The two who arrive from France, striker Maëlle Garbino and midfielder Ella Palis, have signed contracts through 2025, while former Fiorentina defender Federica Cafferata agreed to a three-year deal through 2026. They rounded things out by bringing in former Milan and Roma forward Lindsey Thomas on two-year deal.

Juve rounded out their week of arrivals on Sunday with the signing of 18-year-old Bosnian central defender Gloria Slišković, who has previously been on trial at Barcelona back in December. Slišković will bounce between Juventus Women’s primavera squad and the first team as she acclimates to life in Italy.

The summer mercato was always going to be an interesting one for the Juve women for the simple fact that there wasn’t expected to be a move for a big-name player like there was a year ago when Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir and Lineth Beerensteyn arrived from Lyon and Bayern Munich, respectively. This summer has been about addressing the holes by those who are leaving the club this summer while also providing manager Joe Montemurro with some more depth as they look to give league champions Roma a better run for their money in the Scudetto race and get back to the Women’s Champions League knockout rounds.

Outside of the 28-year-old Thomas, these signings are players who are 26 years old or younger, so you have to believe that they are being viewed as players either getting close to their prime years or already there.

Palis will provide depth for a midfield unit that has already announced the departure of Sofie Pedersen and will also likely see at least Valentina Cernoia leave this summer. Garbino and Thomas give Montemurro even more options up front as well as a much-needed injection of some youth. (What that means for somebody like Sofia Cantore or Agnese Bonfantini still remains to be seen, though.) Cafferata, who was rumored to be pushing for a move to Juve back during the January transfer window, could very well be in contention for a starting spot at right back and will allow Montemurro to not be forced to play one of his central defenders — Martina Lenzini or, like in the Coppa Italia final, Sara Gama — out wide.

In terms of filling in spots on the depth chart, this window has made a lot of sense. And seeing them be announced one by one over a five-day span is just a nice little touch to it as well. Now all that needs to happen is to see them take the field in a few months and show what they’re all about in black and white.