August’s Monthly Juventus Thoughts: Comeback Kids

A brutal summer of deadly heatwaves and extreme weather has passed. Maybe the heat got to some of the hearts and minds of European football executives because we saw some (cumulative) transfer fees that came close to the GDPs of small countries . Or perhaps the football industry has learned a lesson from the current AI bubble industry , which is to spend first and ask questions later.

Whatever the case, we can finally take a collective breath now that the transfer window has closed until January. Because transfers are pointless without the action that really matters: the football on the pitch.

Yes, my friends, the 2026-27 season has begun!

It was one of the busiest pre-seasons on the pitch for Juventus as we had four friendlies in August alone (and three in July). We beat Chelsea 1-0 thanks to a lovely goal from Edon Zhegrova — where was that against Gala, my friend? — but lost 2-1 to Inter in a game that essentially marked the end of Michele Di Gregorio's Juventus career. He could have reacted more sharply for Inter's first goal but completely flapped at the shot for Any Diouf's goal that doubled Inter's lead. Francisco Conceição scored the late consolation goal for the Bianconeri.

We then comfortably beat Palermo 2-0 thanks to goals from Kenan Yildiz and Arek Milik before the traditional annual friendly game between the senior team and the Next Gen team. The senior team was in the lead by two goals before an uncharacteristically early pitch invasion from the fans halted the game. Somewhat bizarrely, an overly enthusiastic fan injured Federico Gatti during the "festivities." These are strange times …

The real action started on Aug. 23: the season opener away from home against newly promoted Frosinone. It was a solid, if unspectacular victory as Gleison Bremer scored the game's only goal halfway through the first half after heading home from Conceição's cross. The Bianconeri restricted Frosinone to just two shots on target but never really seemed to kick into high gear on the other end of the pitch. A timid start to the season but a victory nonetheless.

It was a similarly low-key but quietly dominant victory in the second game of the season, at home versus Parma, although we scored more goals this time. The story of the game was the comeback of the rejects, as forgotten men Nico González and Teun Koopmeiners came off the bench to score in the second half. González unleashed a wicked shot from 20 meters that hit the post and had so much power to it that it came all the way back to him. The Argentine hit a rebound that deflected off a Parma defender and went into goal. This came after he forced goalkeeper Edoardo Corvi into a phenomenal save from a powerful volley just outside the box.

Koopmeiners put the cherry on top when he scored the team's second goal a few minutes before the final whistle. Man-of-the-match González won the ball deep in Parma territory and played the ball to Locatelli, who quickly passed to Koopmeiners. The Dutchman drilled a low shot into the far corner and through the legs of a Parma defender to seal a solid 2-0 victory for the team.

It's not a fireworks start to the season, but it'll do for now!

After a slow start to the transfer window, Juventus kicked into gear in August to secure some interesting signings. Most importantly, we finally resolved the goalkeeper saga, at least for one season …

We signed Colombian defender Jhon Lucumí from Bologna on a deal that is worth up to €22 million.

A few young midfielders left Juventus. Montenegrin midfielder Vasilije Adžić moves to Sassuolo on loan with option to buy, Fabio Miretti missed Dusan Vlahovic so much that he joined him at Besiktas (on loan with option to buy), and Adin Ličina joined Cremonese on loan (and immediately scored in the Coppa Italia! )

The much-maligned and polarizing Canadian striker Jonathan David joined Atletico Madrid on loan with an option to buy, likely a (temporary) replacement for the even-more polarizing Julian Alvarez who is indefinitely exiled from the squad after his even-even more controversial move to Barcelona collapsed. So much controversy!

The ridiculous goalkeeper saga has finally come to an end. Michele Di Gregorio joined Bournemouth, Mattia Perin joined Palermo, we signed Guglielmo Vicario on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, and backup goalkeeper Kamil Grabara joins the team on loan with option to buy from Wolfsburg. I don't remember the last time Juventus had its two goalkeepers be on loan but hey, these are crazy times.

We signed the impossibly tall Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade on a dry, season-long loan.

After seemingly being very close to signing for Juventus, Franck Kessie decided to rejoin Atalanta. We signed the Senegalese midfielder Pape Matar Sarr from Tottenham Hotspur on loan with obligation to buy (subject to a few conditions), an underrated signing that might prove to be a masterstroke.

Juventus Women played a lot of European football last month. First up was a second round Champions League qualification match versus Torreense from Portugal. After a goalless first half, Estela Carbonell and Ana Capeta scored in the second half to give Juventus a dominant lead. Jennie Lakip scored a late consolation goal for the visitors but it wasn't enough to spark the comeback: 2-1.

The Bianconere had to fight till the bitter end in the next Champions League qualification match against Hammarby from Sweden. Svea Rehnberg scored from a close range shot for the Swedes but Alba Redondo pounced on a loose ball in the box to equalize before half time. The game remained on a knife's edge in the second half as both teams canceled each other out and headed towards extra-time.

Japanese international and new signing Remina Chiba decided the game for us in extra-time with two fantastic goals. The first was a powerful left-footed shot from distance and she nodded home Carbonell's cross for her second. Final score: 3-1. Back in Italy, we beat Como 2-0 in the Serie A Women's Cup thanks to goals from Redondo and another from the in-form Chiba.

Our next opponents in the Champions League was Austrian side St Polten. Tatiana Pinto gave us the lead after she controlled Julia Bartel's deflected shot and scored with a controlled shot. Martina Rosucci scored from a magical right-footed shot from distance that flew into the top corner. Pinto scored her second of the match in the 80th minute to give the Bianconere a comfortable 3-0 victory.

We battled to a difficult 1-0 victory over Como in the second matchday of the Serie A Women's Cup. Lea Khelifi scored the game's only goal in the first half after a tidy assist from Emma Stolen Godo.

Besides all the transfers, the biggest story of the month was certainly the news that Kenan Yildiz had surgery on a broken foot and will be out of action for a few months. In addition to Khephren Thuram's surgery , this is a significant blow to the Bianconeri's creative abilities in attack.

When it comes to creativity in attack, it means that our options are now:

The inconsistent Conceição who, despite his talent, still lacks a final product and struggles to produce double-digit goal contributions in a season.

An Edon Zhegrova who is completely devoid of confidence (and likely on his way out of the club)

The admittedly solid and reliable Jeremie Boga.

The unexperienced teenager Kerim Alajbegovic who could prove to be a masterstroke but surely needs time to settle.

And the potentially rejuvenated Nico González.

(Potential wildcard: pushing Andrea Cambiaso further forward as a winger)

It leaves in a very uncertain position with our wingers. Best case, Conceição finally consistently produces assists and a few goals and either Boga or Alajbegovic do enough to ensure that the Portuguese winger doesn't have the sole responsibility of creating danger in attack. Worst case, Conceição blows hot and cold again, Alajbegovic takes too long to settle, Boga plays alright but not enough to lift the team, and González disappears back into obscurity.

Given that we certainly cannot rely on our center forwards for much (yet?), it's going to be a very unpredictable 2-3 months in the attacking department for Juventus. Thankfully, I feel pretty confident about the team's defensive abilities but it does look to me that the manner in which we won the first two games of the season will likely be the blueprint for the team for (at least) the short-term.