Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti made it abundantly clear that his squad is currently lacking a classic No.9.
The 66-year-old avenged himself against his former employers, Napoli, who had dealt him his first defeat as Juventus manager in December. The Bianconeri prevailed by three unanswered goals on Sunday, much to the delight of the home supporters at the Allianz Stadium.
Jonathan David broke the deadlock in the first half, while Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic finished off the opponent with two late strikes.
Luciano Spalletti explains why Juventus need a new striker
Despite David’s improved form, Spalletti took the opportunity to publicly plead to the management to bring him a new centre-forward.
Even though Rasmus Hojlund wasn’t able to make a difference on Sunday, the Italian manager believes Juventus are in dire need of a centre-forward with similar characteristics, one capable of acting as a battering ram.
“David is a strong player, and tonight he showed he can hold his own in a duel inside the box,” said Spalletti in his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia via IlBianconero.
“In the penalty area, there’s no free space — space has to be taken away from the opponent, torn from them — and he did exactly that. He scored a real striker’s goal — a great goal, considering his characteristics.
“When Napoli push you back and force you into launching long balls, you need someone like Hojlund who can bring it down and hold it down.
“When a striker holds the ball like that, try pressing again… Sometimes you wish you had someone who does that, but we’re absolutely delighted with David.”
Spalletti hints at fielding Weston McKennie as a striker
Juventus have already attempted to sign two centre-forwards in January, but they couldn’t find an agreement with Crystal Palace for Jean-Philippe Mateta, while Yousssef En-Nesyri wasn’t happy with the temporary formula, as confirmed by Giorgio Chiellini on Sunday.
Interestingly, Spalletti referred to Weston McKennie as the ‘perfect’ striker.
“McKennie is a perfect central striker, one of the strongest around in that role. He battles, he’s strong in the air, and he has an impressive leap.
“He doesn’t play to be pitied; he plays to get results, because he makes decisions. He would be a perfect striker.”
The extremely versatile Texan has been fielded in almost every outfield role since joining the club in 2020, and often changes roles during the course of the match.
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Michel Sakr
Michel is a football journalist based in Beirut who has been a die-hard Juventus supporter since 1996. He is a Law graduate and a member of the Beirut Bar Association. In addition to writing for Juve FC, he is also the Head Writer for The Laziali and a Featured Writer on other websites including Stretty News, and The Cult of Calcio.