Luciano Spalletti publicly acknowledged that Juventus have made bad signings in recent years and are now working to fill the resulting gaps in the squad, speaking to Sky Sport Italia after the Bianconeri’s 2-0 pre-season friendly win over OGC Nice on July 31.
The Bianconeri won through goals from Douglas Luiz and 19-year-old youth team player Justin Oboavwoduo, and Spalletti used the post-match platform to address the summer transfer window directly. Asked whether further signings were expected before the pre-season tour, the coach offered a candid assessment of the club’s recent recruitment record, in comments reported by Football Italia.
Spalletti said his office sits directly beside those of Marco Ottolini and Frédéric Massara, and that he sees their effort and presence in the transfer market daily. He described them as well-known directors with experience and strong contacts, before adding that the market is complicated for various reasons, that the club made some bad signings in recent years and now needs to fill those gaps, and that – unlike some clubs – Juventus cannot simply pay any sum. He concluded that he considers the directors perfect.
The remarks are widely read as an indirect critique of the tenures of Cristiano Giuntoli and Damien Comolli, whose exits paved the way for the current structure. Giovanni Carnevali arrived as CEO from Sassuolo in June, Ottolini was brought in from Genoa as director of sport in January, and Massara was appointed technical director on July 7.
Spalletti also offered encouragement to Douglas Luiz, who returned from loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa and opened the scoring against Nice. The coach observed that Luiz looked sharper, covered the defence better after playing the ball, and moved faster – qualities he described as crucial.
The window has been largely static for Juventus until recently, with deals now reportedly in place for Randal Kolo Muani from PSG and Bayer Leverkusen winger Kerim Alajbegovic. Spalletti’s message is clear: the squad still has structural holes left by years of imperfect recruitment, and the new front office has both his confidence and his proximity to fix them before the Serie A opener away to Frosinone on August 23.
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