A look at Cristiano Giuntoli's role at Juventus after leaving Napoli
ALVISE CAGNAZZO: Deciding the futures of Chiesa and Vlahovic to poaching former transfer targets… how Juventus’ new sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli will look to revive the Old Lady to former glories after leaving champions Napoli
- Cristiano Giuntoli recently left Napoli to become Juventus’ sporting director
- At the Old Lady, Giuntoli will be tasked with organising their 2023-24 rebuild
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Cristiano Giuntoli left Naples and moved to Turin for two reasons. The first was a desire to lead the most important team in Italy, whom his family are supporters of. The second was his fear of failure to retain the Scudetto with Napoli.
The 51-year-old’s exit from Napoli was silent but significant for the Serie A champions, who wanted to maintain the image Giuntoli’s has with the fans.
A Scudetto in Naples is the equivalent of five league titles at AC Milan or Juventus and was made even more impressive by the manner in which it was achieved.
In the wake of great farewells to Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Fabian Ruiz and David Ospina – Napoli overcame all the odds.
But despite the achievement, according to Sky Sports, Giuntoli signed a five-year deal with Juventus – as the club look to rebuild from the top down.
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Cristiano Giuntoli (pictured) left Napoli to become Juventus’ new sporting director
The Italian chief will be tasked with rebuilding Juventus’ squad after a disastrous campaign last season
The Italian’s family history is flooded with love for the Old lady and his father, according to TuttoSport, was buried with a Juventus jersey.
And now, with the league’s most apt sporting director at the helm, there is optimism that the Italian giants are, finally, heading back in the right direction.
GIUNTOLI WILL DECIDE ABOUT CHIESA AND VLAHOVIC
The first problem that Giuntoli must address will be the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic.
According to TuttoSport, neither player has a strong relationship with head coach Massimilliano Allegri, who could favor the sale of at least one of the two players.
Both Chiesa, an Italian international, and Vlahovic, a Serbian star, are valued at £60million [€70m] but the club could be persuaded to sell for less.
However, the feeling from within Turin is that, without Allegri, neither player would be struggling to adjust to life at Juventus.
For Vlahovic, the striker has been victim to a number of misunderstandings and tactical mistakes that culminated in an underwhelming campaign.
Despite this, the Serbian star still has a picture of himself in a Juventus kit as his profile picture on social media, while Chiesa’s profile has little mention of the club.
Another aspect for Giuntoli to consider is the tactical approach that Allegri will adopt next season.
Chiesa’s place in a 3-5-2 formation, as a box-to-box winger, might have been taken by summer arrival Timothy Weah and will leave the Old Lady with a decision to make.
Both Federico Chiesa (left) and Dusan Vlahovic (right) could leave the club this summer
GIUNTOLI AND NAPOLI WILL BATTLE IN THE MARKET
The pact between Napoli and Giuntoli is clear. Take no interest in Napoli’s current stars but agree to battle it out in the summer market.
Right now, Giuntoli has to rebuild Juventus and to do so, he needs to exploit a whole list of relationships which he developed while at Napoli.
As it stands, there are a number of players who had been tipped for a move to Naples that are now emerging as transfer targets for the Old Lady.
The likes of Atalanta duo Giorgio Scalvini and Teun Koopmeiners are leading targets as well as Jonathan David from Lille.
Giuntoli will also be tasked with Juventus’ summer departures, with a number of players set to leave the club this summer.
The likes of Arthur Melo and Denis Zakaria – who both spent last season on loan in the Premier League – will likely depart in the coming months.
Giuntoli has an agreement with Napoli that ensures he will not try to poach any of their players
FIRST CALL AS SPORTING DIRECTOR WAS MADE TO ALLEGRI
Giuntoli’s first formal phone call as new sporting director of Juventus was made to Massimiliano Allegri.
According to TuttoSport, the former Napoli sporting director has guaranteed support for the coach by announcing an transfer strategy that can bring Juventus back to the top of Serie A.
Allegri, on the other hand, will immediately have to adapt to Giuntoli’s superstitious gestures and his style.
In fact, the new sporting director is used to following matches from the bench to have total control of match – which will be a new challenge for Allegri.
Massimiliano Allegri has been given a vote of confidence from the incoming Giuntoli
GIUNTOLI IN TORINO CITY WITHOUT MICHELI
Giuntoli will not be accompanied in his new sports project in Juventus by his friend Maurizio Micheli.
Micheli will remain in Naples at least until 2024, when his contract expires, unless club president Aurelio De Laurentiis decides to renew his contract and prevent Micheli from following Giuntoli in 12 months.
The 54-year-old has been at Napoli since 2018 and, in the past, was the head of the scouting area for the club. And, with Giuntoli’s farewell, Micheli will now acquire more responsibilities at the will of De Lurentiis.
Micheli took his first steps in the world of football at Udinese, playing the role of manager of the scouting area and is one of the club chiefs credited with Napoli’s recent success.
In Juventus, the new head of the technical area will be accompanied by Giovanni Manna, who has managed the club transfer market up to now, and by Matteo Tognozzi and Claudio Chiellini, Giorgio’s brother.
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