While there has been a noticeable amount of changes on a game-to-game basis during the preseason, one thing Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti has done is roll out 2024 summer signing Douglas Luiz pretty much every chance there has been. The Brazilian midfielder, considered a bust by many, has started all six of Juventus’ preseason friendlies so far this summer — a sign that he is being showcased for a potential move or that Spalletti wants to see what he can offer to a squad in desperate need of midfield upgrades.
It was before Juve left for the preseason tour in which Douglas Luiz said he would like to stay in Turin this season.
And it looks like Spalletti may well be thinking the same kind of thing.
Following Juventus’ 2-0 win over Serie B side Palermo in Perth, Australia to wrap up the preseason tour, Douglas Luiz’s status at the club was one of the big talking points of Spalletti’s post-game interview with Sky Italia. It involved, predictably, whether he has a future at Juventus beyond the summer transfer window. And it’s pretty clear that the answer, at least in Spalletti’s mind, is increasingly moving toward the “yes” column.
“Will he stay next year? That’s an evaluation we’ll make, but most likely yes . I’ve always played him because that’s how I get to know him better. He has undoubted qualities, but we need to think about his coverage on the pitch. He can play with either a more offensive or defensive player, he’s versatile in building play and creating passes. He knows how to play football and understands football, I’m satisfied.”
(All quotes via Sky Italia)
Juventus in the final minutes of each half on Tuesday night in Perth, with Kenan Yildiz — who was waring the captain’s armband with Manuel Locatelli and Gleison Bremer starting on the bench — and Arek Milik scoring a goal apiece. For Milik, it was an especially nice moment considering the past two-plus years in which he has barely seen the field in games that matter or in friendlies, with the goal being the first time he’s hit the back of the net in 813 days.
Overall, it sounded like it was the kind of game — no matter of the level of competition against a Palermo club that was pushing for promotion last season — that Spalletti liked from his team.
“I liked it because the match unfolded at high speed, against an opponent who knows how to keep up the pace . We were well coached in this friendly. I liked the pace, with interesting triangulations, even if we lost a few too many balls due to haste. We need to find balance, and we saw a confident team again. I’m satisfied with what we did; we also played well against Inter.”
That doesn’t mean things were totally great — and Spalletti made that be known.
“We made some mistakes, where we allowed them to take control of the game and let us run a bit in the first half. But towards the end of the first half and in the second, we did what we had to do, and maybe a lucky moment could have changed the result. But even if something we didn’t like comes out, that’s fine, because we can be more aggressive and humble.”
Tuesday night’s game was also the first time that we got to see an attacking trio of Yildiz, Kerim Alajbegović and Francisco Conceição playing behind Randal Kolo Muani. While it might have been for only 45 minutes as Spalletti manages workloads right before they head back to Italy, it did provide some moments of what could be in store.
“Since Alajbegovic almost always attacked the right central defender, Kenan sacrificed himself to chase the full-back, with humility, like a professional who gives everything for the team.
One of the workhorses of the team, fullback Pierre Kalulu, was given a rare rest against Palermo. Also of note, Federico Gatti played much more than the 20-30 minutes that Spalletti said he would during his pre-match press conference because of workload reasons. (One could see it as a lack or depth, or maybe it was because Gatti’s fitness concerns improved over the hours between Spalletti talking before the game and kickoff.
“Kalulu’s condition? It doesn’t worry us. Gatti did well — he should have played only 20 minutes or half an hour, but instead he finished very well and played a good match.”
Juventus have one more friendly before their season opener on Aug. 23 against Frosinone, with the annual family match against the Juve Next Gen being played on Monday at the Allianz Stadium.
