Udinese-Juve -3: the certainties, the unknowns, the news towards the debut

Juve restarts from where it started, both literally and metaphorically. In fact, he had concluded the last championship in Udine, with a victory signed by Chiesa, and here the draw for the calendars set him the first of the 2023-24 championship, Sunday at 20.45. It will be a new beginning in the sign of continuity: Allegri said it in the friendly post with Atalanta, the current composition of the squad confirms it, which sees only two new entries and practically no variation between exits, given that the transfers have drawn on former loans and/or redundancies.

the news’

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Officially the new entries respond to the names of Timothy Weah and Andrea Cambiaso, the first coming from Lille and the other from Bologna, to whom he was loaned last summer. Two players that the pre-season seems to have destined for a leading role in Juve to come: the first takes over from the new Inter player Cuadrado and has already been promoted to starter, the second convinced him in his first appearances and thanks to his versatility (he can play both on the right who on the left) has all the credentials to carve out a role for himself, not only as a supporting actor.

the certainties

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The return to the best condition of Chiesa and a Vlahovic who has appeared so far more confident and convinced in his means are candidates to enter the double hit of the best signings and milestones of the season, market permitting. The winger has shown that he has completely overcome the serious injury that had conditioned his return last season, especially on a mental level, a change of gear already “certified” publicly by Allegri as well. DV9 also offered a much better version of himself than the latest outings, also conditioned by his groin pain: the Serbian appeared enterprising and determined, much more “inside” Juve thanks also to the high pressure applied by the team. And again as seen so far, Weah seems ready to move from the status of new arrival to that of certainty on which the team can already fully rely.

the unknowns

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The squad – of which Allegri said he was “very happy” – is large and also seems to be expanding, the doubts are linked to external factors: the first is the recovery of Pogba, who is improving and perhaps already called up to Udine. The second is a still active market and therefore a harbinger of surprises. In the background also the cheerful temptation to switch to a 3-4-3, also confirmed by the negotiation for Berardi, a formation that the coach would have liked to adopt already last year and then aborted due to injuries. Meanwhile Juve, in the name of continuity, against Udinese will start with a well-tested 3-5-2. And we’ll see for the rest.