Struggling Juventus Star Revitalized by Role Change

Helping Teun Koopmeiners return to his Atalanta glory has been a priority for the coaches who have alternated on the Juventus bench. Luciano Spalletti has taken an unusual route to achieve it, with a promising first impression. The Dutchman was fielded as a central defender in the last two matches, holding his own. He filled in for Lloyd Kelly, who’s injured, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.

Koopmeiners manned such a position at the beginning of his career in the Netherlands, while he has handled pretty much every midfield role since joining Juventus, rarely faring adequately. He welcomed the tweak in his remarks following the Sporting CP game and stated that he was on the same wavelength as Spalletti. The manager was already well familiar with the player, having faced him and studied him in the past, as he was a target for Napoli.

The Bianconeri have a vested interest in the 27-year-old bouncing back. They never got an acceptable return on their nearly €60M investment. He’s not the only one whom the new gaffer could revive. Filip Kostic got off to a fast start, and Fabio Miretti played for the first time this season midweek.

Our Take on Koopmeiners and the New-Look Juventus

We’ll see whether the experiment will stick once Lloyd Kelly and especially Gleison Bremer are healthy and against more proactive opponents, as he wasn’t tested much by Cremonese and Sporting CP. Plus, a four-man line is probably in the cards. Regardless of the role, he needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, perceive the coach’s confidence and handle the ball a lot. He’s their best bet to fill their long-time need for a deep-lying playmaker.