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Juventus will welcome back Francisco Conceicao after the international break. The Portuguese player, born in 2002, is recovering from the dislocated shoulder he suffered in the defeat to Lazio on 18 October. He will have to win back his place after the changes at Juventus during his absence.
A different Juventus await
Since Conceicao's injury, Juventus have made two significant changes: a switch to a back three in a 3-5-2 (or 3-4-2-1), which puts their many wide players at a disadvantage, and a 'new' role for Randal Kolo Muani. He shone high on the right against both AZ Alkmaar and Fiorentina, in Chico's position. Luciano Spalletti's side are also struggling to score. Juventus have Serie A's 13th-ranked attack, with 15 goals, making action in the January transfer window urgent. But Juventus will also have to sell to buy, despite the capital increase their board of directors approved yesterday. That raises the question of whether Conceicao could leave Turin in January, alongside Gatti, Cambiaso and Zhegrova, the three leading candidates for a sale.
Together until June
Fabrizio Romano analysed Conceicao's situation on his YouTube channel: "Conceicao was never really close to leaving Juventus during the summer, first and foremost because that was what he wanted. Conceicao is happy at Juve and wants to stay at Juventus. He is very pleased that Juve backed him so strongly around a year and a half ago, making his move permanent and paying a substantial sum to have him at the club. So Conceicao is very happy at Juventus," reports TuttoJuve.com. "There was a lot of talk about the Premier League, but none of those stories was concrete or true, let's put it that way. There was a possibility with Al-Hilal, in the sense that Al-Hilal had also considered him on a list of wide players. There were two or three names, and then they signed Martinelli and Summerville. Conceicao certainly wants to continue at Juve and is not planning a move in January, nor are Juventus planning one. Today, all the information we are receiving about Conceicao points towards him staying and the two sides continuing together. The transfer market can bring surprises, of course. If a huge offer were to arrive, never say never. But as things stand in November, Conceicao and Juventus are not planning to part ways. On the contrary, they fully expect to continue together at least until the end of the season."
Everything could change in the summer
Conceicao looks set to stay at Juventus through the January transfer window and until June. After that, his future could change either way in the summer, with several factors at play: his wishes, the size of any offers that may arrive, the identity of the Juventus manager (Spalletti? Simone Inzaghi? Conte?) and the formation he adopts, the make-up of the Juventus attack in 2027-28, both in numbers and technical attributes, and the performances of the club's number 7 between now and June.