Former Juventus striker Luca Toni believes Paul Pogba could be the clubs ‘real summer buy’, while Rasmus Hojlund could be a good replacement for Dusan Vlahovic. Speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Toni talked through the Bianconeri squad as it stands and offered his thoughts on where they could improve, including the potential addition of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic:
“Rabiot is a great player and he is important for Juventus to restart from a certainty like the Frenchman. What I like less is the extension for only one year… So next spring a new “Rabiot torment” will begin. And let’s see if Juve will be able to afford Milinkovic Savic as well: that would be another great coup.”
Rabiot has renewed until 2024, while Pogba will start training at the Continassa as early as Monday, a week before his teammates. Your feelings?
“In the last season Pogba has been heavily affected by injuries. I agree with him: when you get injured so much and so often, surely there is a mental problem. Extra-football issues have affected him. If he regains serenity, Paul is a top player and can become the real summer buy.”
Meanwhile, the first signing is Timothy Weah, the son of the former Milan bomber, and he will land in Turin today: do you see him doing well as Cuadrado’s heir?
“I’ve seen Weah Jr play with the US and he seems like an interesting kid. He will be an intriguing bet. Not a certainty like Cuadrado, who has been used to playing at a high level for years.”
If you had to choose who you would sacrifice between Vlahovic and Chiesa in the name of budget?
“It depends on who I could buy in their place. In case of Vlahovic’s farewell, I would see Hojlund from Atalanta as a good replacement. And also Scamacca, after the difficult season in England, can return to what he was two years ago. And let’s not forget Milik, rightly signed. Replacing Chiesa is not easy, also because he has been at Juve for several years and knows the environment. Zaniolo? He is in great recovery and now that he is playing in Turkey he can become an opportunity.”
Back at Bayern is Rummenigge, your manager during your years in Munich. Would you recommend Vlahovic for the attack?
“Dusan is very strong and has not yet expressed his full potential at Juventus. But Bayern, the most organized club in the world, after the problems of last season must focus on an absolute certainty as a center forward. If I were them, I would take Osimhen.”
Juventus at the moment cannot afford Osimhen, but from Napoli they are waiting for D.S. Giuntoli…
“He is a good acquisition for Juventus. Giuntoli together with Spalletti and De Laurentiis was one of the secrets of the extraordinary Scudetto won by Napoli. We are talking about a manager who has been achieving excellent results for several seasons.”
[Image from Juventus.com]
