Corriere dello Sport have taken a look at Teun Koopmeinersโ recent struggles to analyse just what Juventus can do next.
Of the current squad, only Dusan Vlahovic has cost more. However, although the Serbian has faced questions of his own, Koopmeinersโ non-presence has seen his transfer value fall dramatically.
In the space of 12 months, the Dutchmanโs Bianconeri woes have seen him fall far below the โฌ60.7 million paid to Atalanta for his services, to around โฌ30 million. Such has been his impact, it seems unlikely anyone would offer anywhere near that amount for the 27-year-old, especially as his net salary comes in at around โฌ5 million.
Previously, Juve tried to revalue the midfielder, placing him back into the teamโs plans. However, as Thiago Motta found, this proved ineffective. So far, Tudor has moved around the red patch well, even notably substituting him at halftime against Villarreal in the Champions League before leaving him on the sidelines against Milan.
As the Italian paperโs Andrea Losapio points out, Koopmeiners seems dejectedly alone after his latest performances. Itโs also spread to the national team. Initially, he wasnโt called up by the Netherlands for this period, but he was brought in as back-up after Jurrien Timberโs injury.
Even then, he still failed to play a single minute in the 4-0 wins against Malta and Finland. The risk of missing next summerโs World Cup becomes more concrete with each blot on his resume.
So, what can Igor Tudor do? According to the Losapio, he has two options. The first is to dig in his heels and try not to question him, a bit like Carlo Ancelotti did three decades ago with Hernan Crespo at Parma. The Tardini booed loudly, but the Reggiolo-born coach decided to rely on him anyway, winning in the long run.
Or he can try to push him, knowing full well that the hierarchies within the starting set-up could start to become terribly blurred: first Locatelli and Thuram, second McKennie, then Koopmeiners. While a loan away would seem like a reasonable refresh, the former AZ Alkmaar man is too expensive a blunder for Juve to give up on. The January window will no doubt raise options to find consistency.
GIFNย |ย Max Bradfield
