Given the constant injuries that put both Thiago Motta and Igor Tudor into major selection crises at several points during the 2024-25 season, the Juventus midfield was relatively stable in terms of the health.
In terms of quality of performance, the midfield was much more of a roller coaster.
The middle of the park saw two big-money acquisitions over the summer end up as first-season flops, while while a more modestly priced midfielder became one of the team’s most important players. Two players that were relatively unwanted by club and fans, respectively, likewise became indispensable as the season wore on.
For a unit that has been a point of contention for years, this season was a strange mix of underachievement combined with the solidification of its best combination of players in a good while. It was a Jekyll and Hyde type of year for this group, but one that somewhat oddly ended with some encouragement for the future.
No one failed to reach my minimum of five appearances for a mention, although in one case we saw so few of the player that giving a full grade simply isn’t fair. As always, I’ve listed the players in alphabetical order.
Juventus v Monza - Serie A Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
Vasilije Adzic — s/v
When Cristiano Giuntoli plucked Adzic out of Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro, it felt like his next version of Khvicha Kvaratshkhelia — a cheap pickup from Eastern Europe who looked poised to explode in Serie A.
That expectation only grew as preseason training began. The initial intent with Adzic, who only turned 19 in May, was to start him at the Next Gen and integrate him into the first team as he improved. But his performances in preseason impressed Motta, who fast-tracked him to the first team. The fact that the team gave him the No. 17 shirt — formerly of Mario Mandzukic — was a sign of just how high they were on him.
But a muscle injury kept him on the shelf until after the September international break, and he never was able to break into the team after he returned, playing in six games in Serie A and one each in the Coppa Italia and the Champions League. He only played 70 first-team minutes, and as the season wore on he finally ended up playing with the Next Gen, where he performed quite well, scoring four times in nine appearances.
Adzic was lost in the maelstrom that was the season, but he’s got a lot of talent and won’t be 20 years old for another 11 months. There’s lots of time to grow into his potential, and hopefully he will do so, but for now he’s very much an “incomplete” in the grade book.
Juventus v Venezia - Serie A Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
Nicolo Fagioli — 5.5
I haz the sad.
The way Fagioli was handled this year was abominable. After a fantastic performance in Juve’s come-from-behind win at RB Leipzig — one that might’ve been the best game of his career — he somehow ended up in Motta’s doghouse and his playing time dried up. He only started three more games until the middle of January, when his fractured relationship with the manager finally forced him out of his boyhood club entirely, heading to Fiorentina on a loan with an option to buy that became an obligation when Fiorentina improbably stole their way into the European places on the last day of the season.
Fagioli’s performances under Raffaele Palladino were excellent, making his ostracization at Juve all the more puzzling. It’s almost fitting that when Motta’s fate was sealed after the blowout against Fiorentina in March, Fagioli assisted on two of the three goals.
Fagioli played as well as he could during his time in black and white this year, but his season was detonated by his strange row with the manager. His departure was wholly unnecessary and could haunt Juve for years to come.
Juventus v Lecce - Serie A Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
Teun Koopmeiners — 5
The first of the two high-priced acquisitions in last summer’s mercato, Koopmeiners was by far the most anticipated, having antagonized Juve for years while Atalanta morphed into one of Juve’s bogey teams. It turned into a bit of a saga as Atalanta held their ground for as much money as possible while Koopmeiners held out of preseason training in an effort to force a deal through.
He didn’t arrive in Turin until two games had already been played. One assumed there would need to be a bit of an adjustment period as he integrated into the team, but that period seemed to stretch on into infinity. He never seemed to click as the sole CAM in Motta’s 4-2-3-1, and wasn’t helped by the constant injury churn up front that robbed him of the chance to develop chemistry. Motta tried other ways to incorporate him, like dropping him into the double pivot or even other places along the front line, but the former disrupted the rest of the midfield and the latter was continually trying to put a square peg into a round hole.
The Dutchman didn’t score a goal until December, and simply never managed to launch. After a season at Atalanta where he scored 12 goals and had seven assists between the league and La Dea’s Europa League triumph, he only had seven goal contributions total in 2024-25 — three goals and three assists in the league and another goal in the Coppa Italia. When Tudor replaced Motta and brought along his usual 3-4-2-1 — the same formation he’d thrived in under Gian Piero Gasperini — there was hope he might take an upward turn, but a muscle injury in training ended his season in early April.
Koopmeiners obviously didn’t just forget how to play football this season. His awful year was likely a combination of the late transfer and the chaos behind the scenes. Time will tell whether he can find himself again, or whether he will go down as one of the big transfer busts of recent times.
Juventus v Manchester City - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Manuel Locatelli — 7.5
Locatelli’s season began with the fans at the Allianz Stadium booing him off the field in the annual preseason match with the Next Gen. By the end of the year, those fans were singing a very different tune.
This season, Locatelli proved himself worthy of the captain’s armband, which he wore for most of the year and took over for good when Danilo was pushed out of the team in January. He missed only two games in Serie A this year and played nearly 3,000 minutes. He was a rock defensively, averaging two tackles a game in the league and three per game in Champions League play. His passing kept the team ticking, and the tactical changes with both managers that pushed him further up the pitch allowed him to flex the best parts of his passing skills. When Tudor took over, he was even better, often setting teammates off running downfield in Tudor’s more vertical tactics.
But if there was ever a moment that solidified his place as captain, it was in the dying stages of the season’s final match against Venezia.
Tied at 2-2 and needing three points to play in the Champions League next year, Locatelli took the responsibility onto himself when Juve earned a penalty with 15 minutes left. He hadn’t taken a spot-kick in Serie A since he was on Sassuolo, but he confidently dispatched it high to his right, proiding Juve their final 3-2 margin and keeping them at Europe’s big table.
As Locatelli heads into the future, it’s comforting to know that the team has landed on a deserving captain, and one that can lead both on and off the field.
Parma v Juventus - Serie A Photo by Luca Amedeo Bizzarri/Getty Images
Douglas Luiz — 3
The biggest flop of the transfer window for sure, Douglas Luiz is the worst performer of the year by a relatively large margin.
Brought in for €50 million from Aston Villa, Luiz never adapted to Italian football. Even Motta, who had championed his signing over the summer, couldn’t justify letting him off the bench. He only started three games in Serie A out of 19 appearances, plus another three of six in Europe. When he did get on the field he displayed little that would get him out of the doghouse. Instead, he did things like concede penalties in back-to-back matches and other such nonsense.
After scoring nine times for Villa a year ago, he had a grand total of zero goal contributions in his first season with Juventus.
That was exacerbated by long stretches on the sideline, leaving both of the team’s managers without even the most basic element of availability.
A total failure of Cristiano Giuntoli, Luiz may be on his way back out to the Prem this summer while Juve try to cut their losses.
Juventus v Verona - Serie A Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Khephren Thuram — 7.5
Thuram had a lot to live up to as he moved from Nice to Serie A. His father, Lillian, was of course the legendary center-back that manned the back line for five years, and his older brother had just helped Inter to a scudetto (barf) pairing up with Lautaro Martinez up front.
He more than lived up to it.
Thuram was the kind of midfielder Juventus haven’t had since Sami Khedira’s body started to betray him. He started off moves with bombing runs through the middle, finished them off when he was fed into the box, and hounded ball carriers on the press. He finished the season with four goals and five assists, and formed an excellent partnership in the middle with Locatelli.
The fact that he and Locatelli were the best midfield pairing on the team despite the presence of higher-profile, bigger-money signings is a testament to his ability. It also provoked one of the early questions about Motta, when he benched Thuram for much of the month of January despite his partnership with Locatelli clearly proving to be the better one.
Thuram slowly made himself indispensable during the season, and he may yet have more to uncover as his game moves forward. His only big issue is going to be concentration and staying available and healthy, because he’ll be a foundational piece in the years ahead.
SS Lazio v Juventus - Serie A Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Weston McKennie — 7
Another season where it looked like he was unwanted, and another season where he soon proved how dumb that sentiment is.
McKennie was the team’s true Swiss Army knife this season. If a position needed filling, the American filled it. He played pretty much every position other than center-back and goalkeeper this season, and did all of them at a level that was at least competent.
He scored five goals in all competitions and registered four assists, including two in October’s crazy comeback against Inter in October.
By the second half of the year, talk turned to McKennie and the possibility of a long-term contract extension, as opposed to a player the Bianconeri were trying hard to find a new home for four consecutive seasons.
He’s a truly valuable player to have to plug a hole when injuries strike.