Juventus, this is how you lose Alajbegovic: he can improve, others no longer can

Many Juventus players look to have little room for improvement. Their form has fluctuated, more for some than others, but some have performed much the same under Thiago Motta, Igor Tudor and Spalletti. That includes Bremer, Gatti, Cambiaso, Douglas Luiz, McKennie, Kalulu and Nico Gonzalez, as well as the injured Locatelli and Thuram. These are fully formed players, with strengths and weaknesses of their own: could another manager (Conte, Inzaghi) really get much more out of them? Could they turn a corner? There is reason to doubt it.

Juventus, by contrast, can and must work with their new arrivals, especially the younger players. They need to establish their identity and find their place. They have room to improve, in some cases considerably. Woltemade is one of them (though his straight loan means he cannot be seen as part of a project). Above all, there is Yildiz, when he returns from injury, and, at the moment, Alajbegovic.

Alajbegovic was born in 2007. The former Salzburg player began the season well, showing his class and great potential, as he had also done for his national team, but his recent appearances tell a different story. Alajbegovic has played his part in that, but the team's instability, changes of formation (particularly the 3-5-2, which does not suit him), uncertainty over the manager's future and struggles of the older players, who should theoretically be leading the group, are now hampering the number 17's integration. Juventus must do everything they can to stop that.

For Juventus, giving more playing time to a 19-year-old potential champion, even if his inexperience leads to mistakes, makes more sense than relying on players whose many limitations and few qualities are already obvious.