With the Club World Cup over and done with and full focus now on the summer transfer window ahead, Juventus’ front office appears to be taking shape (a little bit later than some would have liked but done nonetheless).
Damien Comolli appears to have found one half of the technical and sporting director duo that he spoke about at his introductory press conference. And it appears that the second half of that duo, the sporting director part, might be close to being finalized as well.
Tuttosport reported over the weekend that a familiar name has reemerged as the favorite to become Juventus’ new sporting director. It is that of Matteo Tognozzi, who was linked with a move to the club prior to the Club World Cup but saw those rumors fade when he was expected to move to the Premier League. Tognozzi was reportedly in advanced talks with Arsenal over a senior recruitment role, according to The Athletic in early June, but six weeks later nothing has officially happened. And Juventus could well end up beng the beneficiary of that as they try to bring in a sporting director as we sit here a month and a half away from the 2025-26 season getting underway.
Tognozzi was previously head of scouting at Juve before going to Spanish side Granada to become their sporting director in November 2023. He spent 16 months with Granada before the two sides parted ways this past February.
If he is appointed as Juventus’ sporting director this summer, it would complete the fornt office that Comolli set out to put together when he first became the club’s general manager in June. Juve are reportedly close to bringing in former Monza sporting director François Modesto as their new technical director. And now, if the Tognozzi rumors are true, then the new-look front office that also includes Giorgio Chiellini having a much bigger role on the sporting side will essentially be complete.
Tognozzi was previously at Juventus for nearly 6 1⁄2 years from 2017 to when he left for Granada in 2023. During that time, Juve started up their Next Gen program, and Tognozzi played a big role in identifying some of the big talents that they signed from outside of Italy to join the primavera and then U-23 side in Serie C — most notably Matias Soulé and Dean Huijsen.
It’s that eye for talent that has many believing that bringing Tognozzi back to Turin would be quite a positive development for a Juventus front office that, a lot like the club as a whole, is seeking some sort of stability and strong leadership. And obviously one that Arsenal had been hoping to secure earlier in the summer. But now? There may be a door open for a return to Juventus — which is a pretty good development for this new-look front office.