Juventus thought they would be in Serie A title contention this season after hiring the exciting Thiago Motta to replace Max Allegri at manager, hoping that the man who led Bologna to a fairytale Champions League qualification would be able to bring more attacking power and youthful energy to the Bianconeri.
Instead, Juve have, more or less, been the same as last season. They are a plodding, defensive side with decent youth contributions but an overall anemic attack that is far too reliant on whether or not the streaky Dusan Vlahovic has a good game in front of goal.
With little talent on the wings and better playmaking on paper than in reality, Juventus are sixth in the table, seven points behind underdogs Atalanta in first. They are technically still title contenders, but they are, as of right now, the worst of the six teams with a real shot at first right now.
Juventus will try to sign some attacking talent in the January transfer window, and it looks like they are eyeing an experienced striker who can be a backup to Vlahovic, who currently doesn’t have a legitimate second man behind him.
According to a report from Raisport’s Paolo Paganini, via TuttoJuve.com, Juventus are interesting in signing West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug on loan in the January 2025 transfer window.
Fullkrug would be a surprising option and almost seems like a give-up from Juventus, just going after a convenient, name option to appease any fan foolish enough to accept mediocrity.
While Fullkrug is better than nothing, he has been an unmitigated bust for West Ham since joining as a bloated 27 million pound signing from Borussia Dortmund. Although he impressed for BVB last season as an all-around striker and reached the Champions League Final, he is 31.
That was a huge investment, and while Juve will be investing nothing on loan, Fullkrug has barely played this season due to injury. He has no long-term upside. In a sense, he’s the second coming of Arkadiusz Milik, the kind of striker on the market Juve should be trying to avoid.
The best options won’t be available in January, but, hopefully, Juventus can find someone better to back up their inconsistent No. 9 than a guy who doesn’t appear to be good enough to start for a bottom-half-of-the-table West Ham in the Premier League.
Joe Soriano