There’s more than one or two things remarkable about Juventus managing 49 consecutive league matches without losing. One of them is accomplishing that, including winning the Serie A title last season and leading the league this one so far, is doing it without a single striker the team is actually happy with.
Because both Mirko Vucinic and Sebastian Giovinco aren’t real strikers. More like advanced play-makers or supporting strikers; Nicklas Bendtner was a flop before Juve even signed him, and luckily for them it’s only a long; Fabio Quagliarella is one of the more inconsistent footballers you’ll find, while Alessandro Matri has his moments, but he also has matches where he’s completely disappeared.
During the summer, Juventus knew that finding a striker is going to be a problem. The team is very deep pretty much all around the field, including at goalkeeper where Marco Storari is one of the best backups you can think of in Italy and possibly in Europe.
Juventus had three proven names in mind during the summer – Robin van Persie, but Arsene Wenger chose wisely and decided to make £4-5 million more by sending his best player to one of his biggest rivals. Who said he wasn’t a genius?
Luis Suarez was also someone Juventus looked into the possibility of signing, but Liverpool weren’t ready to let go of their best player; so far the only player keeping them away from the relegation zone this season.
A third option was Fernando Llorente, but Athletic Bilbao want to see him go down with the ship and let him leave for free instead of trying to make what money they can off of him. He hasn’t started a single match for the club this season, while Aduriz is doing wonderfully up front with 8 goals so far.
So, are Juventus going to make a move in January? Probably. The two biggest names on the list right now both play in the Bundesliga for two huge rivals. One is Robert Lewandowski of Dortmund, the other is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Schalke.
Lewandowski was targeted by Manchester United during the summer, but after already selling Shinji Kagawa to the Red Devils, Dortmund weren’t planning on selling another major player. He scored 22 league goals last season, but they’re a bit harder to come by earlier this season, scoring three through the first 9 league matches.
Dortmund are suffering from adjustment pains, focusing more on the Champions League and a bit of a tweak to their system, which has made Lewandowski more of a feeder thanks to his possession skill and aerial ability, while Marco Reus and others are more dominant in the scoring job. Lewandowski wanted the switch to United, and he might be feeling the same about the Juve move.
Huntelaar is always linked with moves, no matter where he plays. For someone who has already played with AC Milan and Real Madrid to limited success, you might expect knowing to enjoy where you’re successful, and he’s been extremely successful with Schalke.
Like Lewandowski, he’s scored only 3 league goals this season, but he’s on fire in the Champions League and is following a season in which he won the Bundesliga scoring crown and managing 48 goals in 47 matches (all competitions). He’s also getting quite a lot of interest from Liverpool and Tottenham.