The fall of Federico Chiesa: How the Italy winger went from Euro 2020 hero to Juventus outcast as Weston McKennie and more become casualties of the Thiago Motta revolution

Bayern Munich were particularly keen at the time, with then-coach Julian Nagelsmann making no secret of his admiration of the winger. "I've known about Chiesa for a long time," the German told Bild, "and I find him exceptional because he often goes for a one-on-one, and then tries to shoot very quickly."

There was talk of the Bavarians bidding €100 million (£86m/$109m) for his services but, as far as Juve were concerned, Chiesa was priceless. He was to be the cornerstone of their new project, the dazzling dribbler that admired Ronaldo's work ethic and had developed a similar knack of stepping up to the mark in the biggest of games.

"After a season at Juve with Federico it is no longer a surprise for me," former team-mate Gigi Buffon told the Gazzetta dello Sport after the Euros, "but it was not obvious when he arrived that he would be able to play at such a high level in a tournament like the European Championship. But he was unbelievable. In the final against England, it was impossible to stop him.

“When he joined Juve I didn't think he was so good, I have to be honest, but if you do those things at such a high level, then it means that you are really special."

However, Chiesa's development has since been cruelly checked by awfully bad lack. Not only has he been blighted by incessant injuries - Chiesa has been sidelined on 17 separate occasions over the past three seasons - he also had the dreadful misfortune to have Massimiliano Allegri as a manager.

Chiesa scored 14 times during his first season at Juve. He's managed just 18 since, though. The drastic dip in productivity can be partially attributed to the cruciate ligament tear he suffered in January 2022 that ruled him out of 10 months, but Allegri's painfully negative tactics caused Chiesa just as much pain.

Juve were utterly unwatchable for nearly every game of Allegri's second spell in Turin, with the coach rather indefensibly adopting a provincial mentality to managing the biggest club in the country. The net result was talented players being utterly wasted in a system ill-suited to their skillset, with Dusan Vlahovic, for example, so often left completely isolated as games passed him by.

Chiesa, though, was the biggest victim of Allegri's anti-football. One of the world's most exciting wingers was repeatedly played out of position as a central attacker and whenever he drifted wide, Allegri could be seen screaming at Chiesa to get back into the middle.

Consequently, the frustrated forward was regularly withdrawn for failing to do what was asked of him - usually around the 60-minute mark - and his displeasure was obvious. Indeed, on one occasion last season, he was even spotted shaking his head while lamenting, "I am always the first to be taken off!"

In that context, Allegri's long overdue sacking should have been good news for Chiesa, particularly as the dour Tuscan's replacement, Thiago Motta, is a far more progressive coach who relies heavily on wingers in his preferred 4-1-4-1 formation. However, the 26-year-old is actually heading for the exit door himself now. In this regard, though, Chiesa arguably only has himself to blame.

Juve were keen to extend his contract - but on pretty much the same terms as his previous deal. Chiesa's agent has denied claims that he was seeking a significant pay rise for his client, but it's clear that that the two parties had wildly contrasting views on the winger's worth.

The net result is that Chiesa is set to become the first major casualty of the revolution that Motta and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli are overseeing at Juve. He won't be the last, though.

Weston McKennie has also been deemed surplus to requirements. While the bar may have been set pretty low, the American was actually one of Juve's better players last season, racking up more assists (10) than any of his team-mates.

However, after returning to Turin for pre-season, he was told to train separately from the first-team group before Motta made it abundantly clear that neither McKennie nor Chiesa were part of the new "project" in Turin.

"They have to find a new club as soon as possible," the new Bianconeri boss said after leaving both players out of the squad for Saturday's friendly with Brest. "The decision has been made."

The question now is obviously where they will end up, with intense speculation surrounding the future of Chiesa.

Roma has been mooted as a possible destination, but money is tight at Stadio Olimpico, prompting talk of Chiesa refusing to leave Juve so that he can join hated rivals Inter on a free transfer next summer. Giuntoli & Co. are obviously desperate to avoid such a nightmare scenario and are thus letting Chiesa leave for as little as €20m (£17m/$22m) before the close of the transfer window.

At that price, he looks like a potential bargain buy, a calculated gamble that could pay off spectacularly. After all, Chiesa still scored 10 goals last season - his best haul since before Euro 2020 - while at the same time creating more chances (61) and completing more dribbles (39) than any other Juve player.

In the right role under the right kind of coach, Chiesa, who insists he's fully recovered from all of his injury issues, could yet rediscover something resembling his best form. The key, though, will be convincing a club that he's a risk worth taking.

As far as Chiesa is concerned, the target is no longer the Ballon d’Or, but simply staying fit.