By David Lee Wheatley -- @davewh1980
Gonzalo Higuain
could hold the key to Juventus’ hopes of lifting the UEFA Champions League
trophy having completed his controversial switch from Napoli.
Perennial Serie
A champions Juventus have been seeking a prolific striker since Carlos
Tevez returned to boyhood heroes Boca Juniors in 2015.
Tevez struck 29
goals in all competitions during his Bianconeri swansong and replacement Paulo Dybala got close to that figure last year on 23.
However, the
relatively inexperienced South American Dybala came up scoreless in nine of his final 14 league
appearances last term.
Now, in the
shape of another yet another Argentine international Gonzalo Higuain, they have
an emphatic centre forward who broke records left, right and centre in Naples, and will continue in that same vein at J-Stadium.
In contrast to ex-Palermo starlet Dybala, the French-born
28-year-old did not run out of steam, as he plundered a remarkable 36 Serie A goals
in 35 outings throughout the 2015-16 season.
In doing so,
Higuain also set a new record for most goals in a 20-team Serie A campaign. He
converted 25 per cent of his opportunities, whilst hitting the back of the net
every 83 minutes on average – another league-best figure.
On that convincing evidence, some could legitimately
argue that Higuain is an upgrade on both of his aforementioned compatriots.
There are no doubts surrounding Dybala’s abilities, but
he is not the finished article and a hotly-debated £75.3 million has secured an alternative who
represents the full package.
Notwithstanding the imminent departure of midfield
powerhouse Paul Pogba, the Juventus side will almost certainly continue to deliver the amount of
goalscoring chances which saw Higuain fire 385 league shots within his
three-year reign as Napoli’s predator-in-chief – 60 more efforts on goal than
any other Serie A player managed in that same timespan.
Miralem Pjanic, the assist-king of AS Roma, has also joined up
with Juventus this summer and he is likely to provide consistent openings for
his new team-mate in order to nullify any decrease in creativity caused by Pogba's move elsewhere.
It’s a potentially exciting link-up that may also benefit
young comrade Dybala, should he be afforded a role in tandem with his more
experienced fellow striker.
Juventus have
been crowned Italian champions five seasons in succession, while claiming Coppa Italia
glory in their last two campaigns to boot.
Though not taking domestic honours for granted, foremost in
Massimiliano Allegri’s thinking this term is European success, with his second serious crack
at the Champions League trophy beckoning.
His charges reached
the 2015 final against Barcelona in Berlin, but alas they came up short at the most difficult hurdle after a thrilling ride. They were
subsequently unlucky when losing narrowly to Bayern Munich over two legs at the round of
16 stage last season, but that outcome simply wasn’t good enough for a club of Juve’s standing.
The Bianconeri
wished to build on their previous impressive showing, but they couldn’t replicate it without certain key
ingredients.
With Higuain
ensconced alongside the glittering array of superstar squad members that the Turin
giants currently boast, it could well turn out to be a very different story this time around.
Continental
heavyweights such as Real Madrid and Barcelona possess fantastic sets of
players to call upon, but coach Allegri can rightly point to the likes of
Higuain and Pjanic as top-class footballers who can more than match those most imposing of foes.
It’s bad news
for the remainder of Serie A that Juventus are seemingly gaining strength year-on-year and widening
the gulf between themselves and their supposed rivals in the process, but Italian football
could benefit on the European stage if the Bianconeri can live up to their
transfer window promise.
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