Juventus’ transfer record when it comes to signing midfielders in recent seasons has proven to be particularly patchy. Under the stewardship of a sea of new managers, they have repeatedly fought hard to acquire their latest target, and often offered big wages to secure their signature, only to swiftly write off said player as a misguided purchase and look to move them back on.
Emre Can and Aaron Ramsey are perhaps two of the most high-profile cases, but the likes of Mario Lemina, Hernanes, Roberto Pereyra, Tomas Rincon and Dejan Kulusevski all found out that life with the Old Lady wasn’t quite all it was cracked up to be. Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot, and to a lesser extent Weston McKennie, would have surely joined such a group this summer if the Serie A giants, who admittedly push some to the exit door harder than others, had they been able to find buyers for their ‘bomb squad’ stars.
Given the pace of this conveyor belt, as they discard one toy in favour of moving on to the next, Juventus was Liverpool's port of call when they found themselves in need of a new midfielder on transfer deadline day, and they ended up signing Arthur Melo on a season-long loan. Having not featured for the Serie A outfit since May, the Brazilian was left out of their pre-season training camp and an easy enough recruit, even if he was forced to play catch-up once he moved to Merseyside as a result.
