Juventus spent years telling themselves the old structure would eventually bear fruit. This week, the club finally admitted what fans have known for months: it was broken.
Giovanni Carnevali is the new CEO and General Manager, arriving from Sassuolo to replace the departing Damien Comolli (15). The change is not cosmetic. It follows a season without Champions League qualification and a summer where the Jonathan David experiment has already been written off as a failure. The entire football operation is being reset, and Carnevali's appointment is the sharpest signal yet that nobody at the top believes the current squad is anywhere near good enough.
Vlahovic: a contract standoff with no easy ending
The most urgent file on Carnevali's desk is Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian striker's contract expires at the end of this month, and negotiations have reopened following Comolli's exit, with Juventus offering a reduced wage of €5m per season plus bonuses against Vlahovic's demand of €8m (4) (8). That is not a small gap. That is two parties on different continents.
Beşiktaş have entered the picture but are struggling with the same wage demands (13), while former Fenerbahçe presidential candidate Aziz Yıldırım has Vlahovic on his radar. Juventus are simultaneously advancing talks with Alexander Sørloth, which tells you everything about where the club thinks this is heading. The smart money says Vlahovic walks, and Juventus have already started planning for life without him.
Yildiz: the €100m question
Arsenal have put €100m on the table for Kenan Yildiz. The Juventus Sporting Director has publicly confirmed Mikel Arteta's interest, while insisting the 21-year-old is not for sale (3) (17). That is the only defensible position. Yildiz is the brightest attacking talent at the club, and losing him alongside Vlahovic would gut the forward line beyond recognition.
But Juventus are not in the Champions League. They are shedding contracts, hunting for value in the goalkeeper market with Emiliano Martinez and Guglielmo Vicario, and fighting to keep Andrea Cambiaso from Como's concrete inquiry. A nine-figure offer tests principles that a balance sheet cannot ignore. Carnevali's first defining battle is not on the pitch. It is keeping Yildiz in Turin.
The cleanup crew
Douglas Luiz is back after Aston Villa declined their purchase option (1). Two failed loans, two midseason moves, and now a player Juventus are openly inviting offers for, likely from Saudi Arabia or Turkey. Khephren Thuram has drawn Galatasaray's attention (11). Edon Zhegrova is on Trabzonspor's shortlist (2). These are not fringe names. They are players Juventus invested real money and expectation in, and the club is now quietly trying to move them along.
Andrea Pirlo, reflecting on his own Juventus coaching spell, put it with characteristic elegance: "I've always brought the results, but if somebody doesn't like me, it's another story" (12). The line landed like a punch. When a club legend speaks about institutional grudges, you pay attention. The dysfunction he describes outlasted his tenure, and it outlasted Comolli's. Carnevali's real job is not signing strikers. It is fixing a culture.
What to watch
The Vlahovic contract expires on June 30. That is the immediate deadline. Either a deal is reached, or he walks for nothing. The Yildiz situation will not resolve quietly, either. Arsenal have made their move, and the noise will only grow. Carnevali has inherited a club at a crossroads, and his first two weeks will define the direction for years.