Sacchi: Juventus need new signings after incomprehensible David miss

Arrigo Sacchi has had his say on Juventus’s underwhelming draw at home against Lecce in Serie A on Saturday evening, and feels that the Bianconeri may need to dip into the transfer market to help Spalletti move away from the ‘incomprehensible’ Jonathan David and the misfiring Lois Openda. 

The Bianconeri had been on a three-match winning streak in Serie A heading into the weekend, and with a supposedly favourable run of fixtures against Lecce, Sassuolo, Cremonese and Cagliari ahead of them, had been aiming to bring themselves back into the mix for the Serie A title. 

Those aspirations have taken somewhat of a dent after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Lecce, as Inter could now move six points clear of the Old Lady with a game in hand if they are to beat Bologna on Sunday evening. 

“This result is a demonstration that there are no easy challenges in Serie A,” Sacchi wrote in his La Gazzetta dello Sport column. 

“On the eve of the match, everyone was thinking about a fourth consecutive Bianconeri victory, bringing them back in the mix for that big target, but instead, Di Francesco’s team did the business thanks to their courageous conduct based on spirit, sacrifice and a pinch of luck. 

“Spalletti’s Juve did not make that leap in quality that was expected of them,” Sacchi continued. “That is despite the fact that there were numerous opportunities to score, including a penalty that was wasted by David with a truly incomprehensible shot. 

“I wonder how it is possible for a centre-forward who has not scored since the opening game of the season to shoot like that, with a chip that wasn’t even really a chip.” 

Sacchi felt that Juventus’s issues in attack went beyond David’s penalty miss, though. 

“The first thing, which is evident to everyone, is the softness of the attack. David misses a penalty, Openda misses a fairly easy shot into an empty net towards the end. It makes me think that these are not the ideal offensive components for the way Spalletti wants to play. He’s an experienced coach who loves good football, but he still has to work a lot to get what he wants.” 

Sacchi believes there is only one logical way for Juventus to fix their issues in attack. 

“The directors will probably have to help him with some signings in the transfer window.” Sacchi wrote.