Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria: How Juventus’ new signings can help them push for a trophy this season

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Still recovering from their poor start to the season, Juventus have made important acquisitions in the January transfer window to strengthen their chances in the league and Champions League.

Juventus currently sit in fifth place in the Serie A table, 11 points behind league leaders Inter Milan. In the Champions League, the Bianconeri were drawn against last season’s Europa League winners Villarreal in the Round of 16.

Dusan Vlahovic

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Juventus have struggled with goalscoring this season in their league campaign. They have scored 34 goals, fewer than eight of the other nine teams in the top half of the table. Main striker Alvaro Morata has only scored five times in 22 games this season with EURO 2020 star Federico Chiesa struggling with injuries and has only scored twice in 14 league appearances. Paulo Dybala is the side’s top goalscorer in the league with the Argentine scoring seven goals.

The board responded by splashing £74 million on Fiorentina forward, Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian, who has scored 17 league goals this season, the joint-most along with Ciro Immobile, is only 22-years-old. Last month, he equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 33 Serie A goals in a calendar year and could become the first striker to win the top goalscorer award playing for two different clubs in one season.

Both Morata and Moise Kean fail to come close to Vlahovic’s recent goalscoring record, partially due to lack of minutes compared to the youngster, but their shooting statistics are also inferior. Vlahovic averages more shots and shots on target per 90 as well as scoring five of his six penalties in the current campaign.

Juventus’ new number seven could make his debut against Verona but Massimiliano Allegri will hope that the Serbian’s goal-scoring abilities will help his side become more threatening in the Champions League, with the chances of winning the Serie A title looking slim.

Denis Zakaria

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The other impressive signing made by the club was the £8 million deal for Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach. The Swiss midfielder’s contract was set to expire in the summer which allowed Juventus to acquire him for a cheap price tag.

With Rodrigo Bentancur and Aaron Ramsey leaving in the window to join Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers respectively, it was pivotal that Allegri brought in a midfielder on Deadline Day. When comparing the defensive and passing capabilities of Zakaria to Weston McKennie and Manuel Locatelli, it is clear that it is a good addition to the squad.

Zakaria has better success when attempting tackles against players dribbling and also wins the ball back more often when pressing opponents compared to his new teammates. Only Locatelli (38) has blocked the ball more often than the Swiss midfielder (37) but the new signing has more interceptions than both midfield partners.

The 25-year-old’s passing ability is not only the best in the Juventus squad, but he is one of the best passers in Europe. He has completed 90% of his passes this season, putting him in the top 10% in comparison to players in Europe’s top five leagues.

The trophy hunt

The Old Lady are in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia after a convincing 4-1 victory against Sampdoria earned them a tie against Sassuolo in the next round and it is seemingly their best opportunity for a trophy.

Juventus topped their Champions League group despite a 4-0 defeat against Chelsea, their only defeat in the group stages. They have been knocked out of the Round of 16 stages in their last two campaigns and have not reached the finals since the 2016/17 season. The form of the likes of Vlahovic, Zakaria and Dybala will be imperative when challenging the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Paris-Saint Germain.

The 36-time Serie A champions are currently unbeaten in their last nine league games as they continue to try and close the gap to Inter at the top. However, achieving a spot in the top four will be the main aim for Allegri at the moment as they are one point behind Atalanta having played one game more than their rivals.

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