Dumped out of the Champions League for a second straight season, and ten points behind bitter rivals Inter in the Scudetto race, it's safe to say that it's been a very disappointing season for Juventus.
Although he had a successful term in Turin as a player, that may not be enough to save Andrea Pirlo's career as manager as rumors continue to swirl about the 2006 World Cup winner's tenure. After all, Frank Lampard is widely regarded as a Chelsea icon, and he was nonetheless sacked after Chelsea experienced a downturn a few months back.
Meanwhile, the team's poor showings in Europe and in Serie A have the Italian press buzzing about a potential summer overhaul as Juve's executives are really keen on seeing La Vecchia Signora establish themselves as serious contenders on the big stage. Their hopes of winning a tenth straight Scudetto appear to be in tatters, so it's now time to go back to the drawing board.
That means that a cull is necessary, and some familiar faces could be shown the exit door. As per Gazzetta dello Sport, it may not just be a handful, but a slew of players.
In fact, according to that report, only five players are totally immune from being shipped out. Yes, that's right. Five.
The players who Juve's leaders have decided as so vital to the project that they, under no circumstance, can't be sold are: Arthur, Danilo, Dejan Kulusevski, Matthijs de Ligt, and former Fiorentina star Federico Chiesa.
Everyone else, including players like Paulo Dybala, who've struggled for form and fitness?
They can be sold if the price is right. And of course, that includes multi Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who's already been linked with a move away form the Allianz Stadium anyway at various points even before the start of this season.
Meanwhile, veterans like Gigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini have been getting on in years for quite some time, so this looks like the perfect opportunity for them to finally hang up their boots after enjoying quite a bit of success at both club and national level.
