Whilst the mercato window closed shut with no last minute addition to the troublesome midfield area, or any serious challenge to the long jaded Sandro, this summer we did make one major signing other than the protracted Locatelli deal. As a former juventino was returned to the fold…
Moise Kean was by far the most consistently amazing talent we have had in our youth ranks for many years. Close to prolific in front of goal at every age level for both club and country and was finally thrust into the senior squad for the last season of Max, the 18/19 campaign.
He has always been a raw furnace of high octane pace, power and finishing. No fancy footwork, more a man with electric acceleration and still growing physicality, and unlikely to wow many with his technique…yet given a regular run in the side, in any side with talent around to create chances, and he will score plenty. Of this I remain convinced.
The reasons for him leaving the club previously seem a mixture of our need to service the Ronaldo investment and our great chum(p) Signore Raiola basically telling the club that either they offer a new contract and make him part of their plans in a more substantial manner, or accept he must leave either for a fee or on a free the year after.
Kean’s next destination was curious. The toffees neither glamorous and seeking any glory nor relegation fodder, and Everton assuredly proved a huge change for the lad. One of the most deprived areas of Liverpool, the weather generally awful, the language and culture so far removed from Turin it must have seemed a different, more grim world.
His record for Everton was poor. Yet he was never given a solid run in the side and was likely having problems adjusting to the staggering changes in his life, at still a young age. Somehow, despite the failure to make anything positive of his premier league opportunity, Raiola engineered a quite stunning loan move to PSG. Where Moise was suddenly back in a city of vibrancy, probably a culture far more similar to Italy, of fine food, music, hospitality, better weather, prettier areas and of course, working with Neymar, Di Maria, Mbappe and other luminaries of the world game.
Some will say it was easy to look impressive in such a talented squad and weaker league, and this has some merit, yet I suspect a more pivotal part was the manager and culture. And did Ronaldo make any of our squad seem a much better player???
It is also worth considering that at PSG there was greater expectation of him, if he was to get any regular playing time. And the nut of the matter is that young Kean prospered once more>>>
I will also add that Paris is surely the easiest City of his journey so far, where a young black lad can feel the most comfortable. Which matters, it really does…Italy remains an imbecile level racist state in some parts, often felt in the football culture. How many black italian footballers can you name???? I struggle, which is instructive of some tale of Italy very different indeed to not far away France, or England, or Germany, or Portugal. This must be a cultural issue, which is probably felt off the field as much as on it.
Add to this the moronic words of Souness which were too well publicised to have not found their way to Moise, and before this, Big Leo’s typically dumb attempts to defuse a situation where Kean was abused in Italy and it makes sense to suggest that his journey has been made harder partly due to the colour of his skin. Which makes me applaud the player, for choosing to return to Italy, to Juve.
Mancini is a fan of Kean. He always strikes me as icily honest, and I believe in his words of loving the lad as a young man and knowing he has huge ability. And its a positive sign that Moise has been returned of late to La Nazionale, not yet featuring, but back in contention, which will come as huge encouragement for the player. Its as if Mancini is saying ‘Okay, you are serious, and have made a move back to Italy, I will bring you back in from the cold, at first to just be around the side, and then its up to you, to succeed for Juve, and opportunities for your country will follow’.
His ability to play all across the front line should lead to plenty of playing time. His goalscoring instincts I believe are more natural than any other in the squad. Pace, power, determination to succeed and an eye for a finish could well prove a wonderful weapon for this new Juve we all hope will soon start to take shape.
I remain very uncertain of Cherubini. Also of Arrivabene. Even of Max, though I have years of success to lean upon and grasp at with hope in regards to our returned Mister. So much has gone rotten at our beloved club, pretty much since the Ronaldo move. He has now gone, which I am glad of, no matter the huge loss of goals, for the manner of his departure was conclusive proof of my longstanding horror that we had leveraged our plans on a man who I could never consider a juventino…
My only concern of Kean, a fairly serious one, is of his dancing…
Still, he has one of the most celebrated dancers of our time, to learn from…
Benvenuto a casa, Moise
(follow me on twitter HERE)
