Juventus, no more "out of squad": the new strategy regarding redundancies

An amicable separation. No more clashes, "punishments," or retaliation, but a conciliatory strategy, hoping to be more convincing than in the past. The Juventus team that met today to begin preparations for the new season clearly has a completely different approach toward those players who, for various reasons, aren't part of the future plans. Under Tudor's orders, regularly accompanied by their teammates, are both the actual surplus players (Arthur, Tiago Djalò, and Facundo Gonzalez) and those players the club would like to sell by September ( Vlahovic , Nico Gonzalez, Milik, Weah, and Miretti). Therefore, no purges are being made, with the goal of facilitating departures.

One of the hallmarks of Giuntoli's management, however, was to take a hard line against those who didn't fit into the plans, in order to push "undesirable" players towards the gates of Continassa. Without regard for anyone. In the summer of 2023, for example, even outgoing captain Leonardo Bonucci had paid the price , "sent" to train separately (with a schedule parallel to the others) along with McKennie (later reinstated due to Fagioli's problems), Arthur, Zakaria, and Pjaca. "Manna and Giuntoli came to my house on July 13th, humiliating me. Because in the end, it was a humiliation. They told me I would no longer be part of the squad," the Juventus defender thundered . "In fact, they gave me the option of staying home for a few more days and that even my presence in the dressing room and on the pitch would hinder Juventus' growth. This is what I heard after 500-odd games in black and white." A situation that also brought with it legal ramifications, with a lawsuit filed by Bonucci that was later withdrawn in February of the following year . "My rights stipulated that I should have trained with the team regardless of the coaching decision, but I wasn't allowed to, and I never trained with the team again," he explained. "I felt drained of everything, humiliated, and unable to do what I love most."

In that case, however, the hard line had had its effects: Bonucci, despite a capital loss on the balance sheet, went to Union Berlin, Arthur on loan to Fiorentina, Pjaca to Rijeka, and Zakaria (with a capital gain) to Monaco. The same strategy last summer, however, proved less effective. This was also because the list of players on the sidelines was much longer: it included the usual McKennie (later reinstated after the agreement on his contract renewal), Chiesa , Szczesny, Milik, Kostic, Rugani, De Sciglio, Nicolussi Caviglia, Arthur, Djalò, Barbieri, and Nonge. For the transfer of their son, a goalkeeper born in the Polish club, to Liverpool, the Bianconeri had to accept a €3 million capital loss on the balance sheet, the separation from the Polish goalkeeper had entailed a substantial severance package, while Arthur had rejected all possible destinations, even remaining in Turin as a "purged" player until the end of January 2025 .

A year later, the Brazilian is still there , as are the Portuguese defender, Kostic, and Rugani. The situation is different, as the latter two could even be confirmed in the squad following Tudor's evaluations. In any case, no one is being ruled out a priori. The reason is twofold: psychological and technical. First, it avoids tensions and rifts with players and their entourage, in the hope of finding more conciliatory positions and a willingness to accept a new destination. Second, it keeps the players at the same level of fitness as their teammates, thus fostering interest from potential candidates, who shouldn't have to factor in a "regeneration" period upon arrival. This is even more true if Tudor were to then decide to give these players a few minutes of playing time during friendlies. Like a couple who decide to stay under the same roof for the sake of their children: the wife in bed, the husband on the couch, and maybe even go out to dinner every now and then. No clashes, but the concept remains the same: they're still separated at home.