First Juventus Idea to Fix Attack Fell Through Quickly

Juventus acquired Randal Kolo Muani and Nick Woltemade to address their frontline this summer, moving on from Dusan Vlahovic. While they had been chasing the former for a long time, their initial plan was to sign Joaquin Panichelli from RC Strasbourg, Tuttomercatoweb reports.

The Bianconeri began working on the addition last February. Luciano Spalletti had rubber-stamped the idea, as he’s been pining for a physical striker. The Argentinian marksman had given them the inside track over Tottenham and Atletico Madrid. He would have been less expensive than their eventual newcomers, salary-wise.

Juventus were ready to spend €35/40M for Panichelli. The 23-year-old was La Liga Segunda’s Pichichi with Mirandés in 2024/2025 and confirmed himself in France, bagging 16 goals in 27 appearances.

However, he tore his ACL with seven games to go last season. He’ll spend a few more months on the mend. He would likely have been called up for the World Cup had he been healthy. The massive injury inevitably forced the Old Lady to pivot.

Their investments haven’t paid off for now, Corriere dello Sport reports. They have one of the worst conversion rates in Serie A, scoring just 4 goals in 55 shots: a mere 7 percent. Their current xG is 5.35. Their discrepancy is the fifth-worst in the league.

Our Take on Juventus and Panichelli

It’d be interesting to know whether he was an alternative to Randal Kolo Muani or if they could have paired them up, which would have been the optimal solution. The Frenchman has been poor so far, but the way they are feeding him has been abysmal too. He’s not the kind of player who thrives with his back to the goal or in tight spaces.