They say that “time and tide wait for no man,” but clearly the Old Lady believes she too has not a second to waste. Rather than lick her wounds following the heavy Champions League final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, the Italian giants Juventus have moved quickly to improve their squad ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.
With a record six consecutive league titles secured, the club has repeatedly confirmed its dominance of the domestic scene only to fall short in Europe, an issue the Bianconeri now seem hell-bent on correcting. Indeed, as soon as had they returned to Turin from Cardiff, Max Allegri was rewarded with a new three-year contract and the Juve boss voiced the opinion that his side was about to get stronger.
"I know that when I get back for pre-season, the club will have signed players who improve the squad, but that is not easy because we have reached such a high level now that there are only a few who fit the bill,” the Livorno native told Sky Italia last month. “To move forward, we need to find players who complete the areas where we are most lacking.”
Clearly, that meant finding some high quality attacking talent that can score and create goals with equal aplomb and – just days after Allegri’s interview – Sampdoria super-sub Patrik Schick was undergoing tests at the J-Medical facility. His qualities were discussed in this previous post, but it was clear that no matter how promising the young Czech forward had looked, he was not of the standard required if Juve are to truly contend in the Champions League.
It was around the same time that the club’s interest in Douglas Costa began to become common knowledge, Allegri admitting that the Bayern Munich winger was “one of our objectives.” Rumours intensified, then disappeared, then earlier this week returned stronger than ever as transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio revealed a deal was close to completion.
Tuesday saw Juventus director general Beppe Marotta fly to Germany and return with the player and his wife. They received an vociferous welcome at Turin’s Caselle airport and the following morning saw him arrive for his own medical, the final stage of a move that will initially see the Bianconeri pay €6 million for a two-year loan. They will then be obligated to buy Costa outright in 2019 at a cost of a further €40 million, making the Brazilian the fifth most expensive signing in the club’s history behind Gonzalo Higuain, Gigi Buffon, Pavel Nedved and Lilian Thuram.
Yet despite the huge sums involved, there is little doubt that Juve are making a remarkably well-suited acquisition. It seems from their approach to the transfer market that they intend to continue with the 4-2-3-1 formation Allegri switched to back in January, with Costa joining Paulo Dybala, Marko Pjaca and Juan Cuadrado as options for the trident behind Gonzalo Higuain.
Rumours of a move for Fiorentina’s Federico Bernardeschi remain strong, giving the Bianconeri a plethora of alternatives that could also include Schick, Miralem Pjanić and Mario Mandžukić. The Croatian striker was vital to the success of the new system, but it seems his gritty determination, energy and tactical intelligence will now be replaced by genuine wingers, with Costa arguably the pick of the bunch.
Simply put, Costa is devastating. His blend of speed, strength and a seemingly endless bag of tricks making him difficult to mark, while his ability with both feet means would-be markers cannot anticipate which way he will look to go beyond them. Over the two seasons he spent in Munich, the 26-year-old scored 14 goals in 77 appearances, also weighing in with 18 assists despite struggling with injuries last term.
Even so, statistics taken from WhoScored.com show that no player in the Bundesliga connected with more crosses over those two campaigns (160), his outstanding dribbling ability creating the majority of those openings. The same source shows that he led both the German top flight (148) and the Champions League (58) in successful take-ons since the start of 2015/16, his ability to get beyond the first defender key to his overall impact.
Most Bundesliga take-ons (148) 🇩🇪
Most Champions League take-ons (58) 🏆
Double dribble.
"I was weaker in the second part of the season,” Costa told Kicker back in September. “When opponents learned that I was quick and was looking for one-on-one situations, there was suddenly more players standing in front of me and there was less space.” Clearly, he adapted well to the extra attention, attempting 6.3 take-ons per 90 minutes last term and completing an impressive 60% of them.
Away from the penalty area where he has repeatedly shown he can create scoring opportunities, his passing during build-up play can occasionally be a beat too slow. However, his ability to play further infield as a No.10 – perhaps alongside Dybala in a 4-3-2-1 – would be another useful weapon, while his presence will undoubtedly prevent opponents from keying in on the young Argentinian as Real Madrid did so effectively in Cardiff.
A move designed to improve the overall quality of the side, the arrival of Douglas Costa is also a major signal of intent. The Old Lady isn’t happy to just be a participant in the Champions League, she wants to be a protagonist and, in adding such a player, is working as quickly as possible to achieve that goal.
