5 Champions League contenders and their centre-backs issues

#3 Juventus

Juventus needs to add more quality to complement Chiellini and co. next season

The Bianconeri need a regeneration at the backline and the club’s hierarchy knows this. Too often in the UCL, the team has been ripped apart by faster, quicker-thinking opponents (Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Barcelona in the recent past).

The trio of captain Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli may have been imperious in Serie A but in the UCL, they have been caught flat-footed when it matters most. Mehdi Benatia has since moved on while Daniele Rugani has not been given enough time/space to show what he can do.

Barzagli has after a distinguished career, retired while the favoured pair of Chiellini/Bonucci is getting even older and slower as the time goes on. With Rugani showing little of his earlier promise, there is an urgent need to get in a quality player into the central position.

Enter de Ligt (once again). The young Dutchman is the beautiful bride for a lot of big sides across the continent given his age, quality, price (compared to someone like Martin Skriniar or Koulibaly).

Alongside PSG, the Italians have emerged as a leading contender for his signature. With Sarri already said to be in love with the idea, getting this deal done could be the key to breaking Juve’s UCL hoodoo.