Massimiliano Allegri converts Federico Chiesa into a striker
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri will convert Federico Chiesa into a striker in a bid to address his side’s lack of goals… as the Bianconeri look to bounce back from a dismal 2022-23 campaign
- Federico Chiesa will play as a striker for Juventus in the upcoming campaign
- Juve star’s father Enrico Chiesa played up front for Italy between 1996 and 2001
- Massimiliano Allegri’s Bianconeri side finished a dismal 7th in Serie A last season
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri adapted Federico Chiesa into a striker for the coming campaign in a bid to harness his potential in front of goal.
The Italy international follows in the footsteps of his father Enrico, who played as a forward and won silverware with Sampdoria, Parma, and Fiorentina before retiring in 2010.
The younger Chiesa’s physical resemblance with his father is impressive and Allegri will hope that he can shape the 25-year-old into a similar goalscoring mould.
Chiesa has never lacked confidence going forward, but the defensive responsibilities his role entailed saw him net just twice in the league in his first season since joining Juve permanently from Fiorentina last summer.
However, the arrival of another winger in the form of USA international Timothy Weah has given Allegri the depth to experiment with adapting Chiesa into an out-and-out striker.
Massimiliano Allegri plans to utilise Federico Chiesa as a second striker next season
Allegri hopes the move will see Federico mirror his father Enrico’s exploits as a striker
After a complicated year that saw him return to action in November after ten months on the sidelines with a knee injury, Chiesa is aiming for a relaunch that will allow him to perform to his full potential at the Allianz Stadium.
In his debut outing in his new role, Chiesa played as a second striker behind Moise Kean in a 3-5-2 formation as his side twice came from behind to draw level with AC Milan in a pre-season friendly before triumphing on penalties.
Chiesa’s positional flexibility will be an additional benefit should Allegri opt for the 4-3-3 that he utilised in the early portion of last season as Juve slumped to a disappointing seventh, unable to keep pace with a surging Napoli in Serie A.
Speaking following the pre-season friendly with Milan, Allegri spoke with enthusiasm about Chiesa’s performance.
‘Chiesa presented himself well,’ The Juve boss told Sky Sports.
The Juve boss hailed Chiesa’s performance in their pre-season clash with AC Milan
Chiesa will partner Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic when Bianconeri employ a 3-5-2 formation
‘We knew that last year would be a difficult and transitional year due to his injury but I am very happy above all for the spirit and desire he has.’
In addition to Kean, Allegri also has Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik at his disposal. The former Napoli star was the club’s third-highest scorer in the league last season, netting six times in ten starts before making his loan deal permanent this summer.
Despite this, it appears that Allegri’s ideal strike partnership for the coming campaign is Chiesa paired with fellow former Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic as The Old Lady look to secure a return to European football following the disappointment of last season.
However, whether Vlahovic will remain at the club this summer remains to be seen. Bianconeri chief Francesco Calvo insisted the Serbian forward was not for sale in May, but Chelsea have been consistently linked with a move for the 23-year-old this summer.
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