A player Juventus should give one more chance to

Juventus are in a difficult period as an organization. Beyond the punishment from the FIGC that has cost them Champions League and Europa League football for 2023/24, the Bianconeri are in a self-made mess brought on by years of squad mismanagement and placing their faith in the wrong man, Max Allegri.

The challenge this summer will be keeping franchise players like Dušan Vlahović and Federico Chiesa, creating a clear plan to integrate the many talented youngsters in the squad, and then making economical signings that supplement the existing talent in the squad without hamstringing them. The days of signing overrated, overpaid veterans must end.

To that end, Juve may need to take stock of some of the players they are considering offloading. The likes of Arthur Melo and Weston McKennie do not seem to have a future with Juventus, because they have shown they do not have the quality to be relied upon. But there is one name who may deserve another chance.

That player is Denis Zakaria, loaned to the disaster zone that was 2022/23 Chelsea – an even more profoundly disappointing team than Juventus.

Zakaria joined Juve in the winter 2022 transfer window with plenty of fanfare after establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga. A steal of signing at the time for around 10 million euros, Zakaria has actually already made the Bianconeri three million euros based on the loan fee Chelsea paid.

An intelligent midfielder who can defend at a high level and has the technical standard Juventus require, Zakaria’s only problem is his injury record. He struggles to get on the pitch, which the Bianconeri have seen.

But the Swiss international is still only 26. He is, theoretically, in the prime of his career. Juve already have to deal with a talented, oft-injured midfielder in Paul Pogba, but Zakaria is more consistent and easier to rely on, even if he is not as exciting or even as beloved in the city of Turin.

Pragmatically speaking, Zakaria has little transfer value right now. Most people are not aware of what he did at Borussia Mönchengladbach, and transfer values are subject to recency bias.

The market will dictate that Juve won’t make much money from a Zakaria transfer anyway, so it may make more sense to bet on him for a season as a role player and hope for something more. If that checks out, the Bianconeri can then sell Zakaria for more, or they can keep him around.

With Adrien Rabiot’s future uncertain, Zakaria’s box-to-box skill set becomes that much more valuable as a “free” replacement. Zakaria would be less costly than another player, who would then be more of a roadblock to the youngsters. And since those youngsters are more attacking than Zakaria, a defensive midfielder, he, specifically, does not hurt their development as much.

Zakaria averaged 1.8 dribbles completed per game and 2.6 combined tackles and interceptions per match in his last healthy half-season for Gladbach. If Rabiot goes because Juve cannot pay the wages he demands, Zakaria can step in as a safe, veteran presence as the club transitions to a future midfield.