Like most people, Aaron Ramsey turned up for work on Monday morning. While July 1 was just another day at the office for many of us, it was the start of a new chapter of the Welsh international’s life. After spending over a decade with Arsenal, this was the first time he could say he was a Juventus player, taking time to mark the occasion on social media as he posted a picture of himself in the club’s new kit.
Juventus themselves did not, a fact which undoubtedly stems from their desire to dedicate an entire day Ramsey at some point in the coming weeks. There will be a press conference, a trip to the JuveStore where he will print his own no.8 shirt and plenty of photo opportunities for fans outside the stadium.
Yet while that is a perfectly valid explanation for the Bianconeri not acknowledging Ramsey’s official arrival, it would – if the club were not ultra professional – be forgivable if they simply forgot. On the very same day the Caerphilly native was reporting for duty, Adrien Rabiot was taking a medical, Juve’s club doctor busy putting another highly coveted international midfielder through his paces following his arrival from PSG.
The name's Rabiot, Adrien Rabiot pic.twitter.com/f3MEtjMfS0
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 2, 2019
The work done by Sporting Director Fabio Paratici since the end of the 2018/19 campaign has clearly addressed the team’s biggest weakness. Led by Giorgio Chiellini, Juve’s defence was once again above average, while the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in attack ensured the team was never lacking a goal threat. It was the area in between where they were ultimately undone however, Ajax, Atalanta and a number of other sides simply overwhelming the Bianconeri midfield and prompting Paratici to move swiftly this summer.
Much like Ramsey, Rabiot was snapped up by Juventus when his previous contract expired, joining a team that had already picked up Emre Can and Sami Khedira in similar circumstances from Liverpool and Real Madrid respectively. Rounding out the talent-laden group of midfielders who available to new boss Maurizio Sarri are Miralem Pjanić, Rodrigo Bentancur and Blaise Matuidi.
2009 – Cannavaro
2010 – Toni
2011 – Pirlo
2012 – Pogba, Lucio
2013 – Llorente
2014 – Coman
2015 – Khedira, Neto
2016 – Alves
2018 – Can
2019 – Ramsey, Rabiot#Juve know how to bag a free transfer pic.twitter.com/PxIkvX9jxT
— Unibet (@unibet) July 1, 2019
With 351 international caps, two World Cup wins and a staggering 26 league titles in France, Germany, Italy and Spain between them, there is no doubting the depth of quality. But there are questions to be asked as to how the pieces fit together and what happens next, because – unless Sarri is planning on unleashing a new 3-6-1 formation – there are simply too many players and not enough places.
Yet those same matches where Juve came up short also go a long way towards answering who may be headed towards the exit. The speed and dynamism of those opponents highlighted an absence of both in Max Allegri’s Juve side, and the stylistic traits of ‘Sarrismo’ will demand that the team delivers plenty of both next term.
Indeed, it is no surprise to see Khedria and Matuidi being linked with a move away, various reports in Italy making the obvious observation that neither fit the philosophy of the new Coach. “I’d like to see Miralem Pjanic touch the ball 150 times per game,” Sarri said at his inaugural press conference, and as good as the aforementioned duo have been in the past, their technical skills and passing range would not be up to such a drastic change in approach.
Shipping out both 32-year-old players would reduce both the wage bill and the average age of the squad, allowing Sarri to focus on a young, vibrant unit of Bentancur (22), Can (25) and Rabiot (24) with Ramsey (28) and Pjanić (29) the experienced veterans at the centre of the action. The latter is ideally suited to fill the kind of role Jorginho occupied at both Napoli and Chelsea, a metronomic passer who can maintain the tempo the Coach demands.
Juventus midfield now:
• Can
• Matuidi
• Ramsey
• Khedira
• Rabiot
• Pjanic
• Bentancur.~ Which midfield 3 should sarri start? pic.twitter.com/3dLZqOFt2H
— SpOrTs ToWn. (@Sportstown01) July 2, 2019
Ramsey meanwhile will be deployed much further forward, responsible for creating chances for Ronaldo and co. but also weighing in with his own share of goals as Paratici explained in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport back in April.
“We don’t have another player like him in our squad as he has more technique than our midfielders but is less versatile,” the sporting director told the pink paper’s Walter Veltroni. “He’s a man for the final pass and he has an eye for goal. Ramsey’s a player who, in my opinion, still hasn’t found his position because he’s never played on the outside of a three-man unit, which is his role as it lets him make runs in behind.”
Those traits will make the former Arsenal man an essential figure in Juve’s plans for the forthcoming campaign, his ability to make a difference likely to see him routinely included in the first-choice XI alongside Pjanić, with either Rabiot or Can taking the third spot.
Despite Rabiot claiming at his official unveiling that “it’s normal for there to be such competition,” it will not be easy to hold down a place among such esteemed company, and the club will hope that the sheer volume of options forces each player to be at their very best.
If they are, then the Old Lady has assembled what could well be the most talent-laden midfield in Europe and it will be up to Maurizio Sarri to find the best combination of players for any given opponent.
Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot have arrived at Juventus, and now the work can truly begin.
