This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
With the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus, the Bianconeri’s backline seemed all but set.
After all, with the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci in the squad already and Merih Demiral and Daniele Rugani acting as their backup, they had a perfect blend of youth and experience.
Defences like that are bound to last for years.
But if the recent transfer reports are any indication at all, there might be trouble brewing behind the scenes.
According to the update coming from IlBianconero, Arsenal are still very much on the prowl for the 25-year-old outcast, Rugani, and are willing to return for the player after expressing an interest in the summer.
This, on its own, could already be a cause for distress, especially considering that two of their veterans, Bonucci and Chiellini, are on the wrong side of their 30s and slowly fading.
Rugani is very much the next in line, but even with that being said, he’s only the fourth choice centre-back at the team.
His game time throughout the 2019/20 season has been nonexistent, to say the least. So far, he has only tallied 180 minutes under his belt and has largely been warming the bench for the regular starters.
But their other substitute, Demiral, who’s in a rather similar situation to his bench buddy, is reportedly also linked with an exit from Turin, and if Juventus are not careful enough, they might be left with one youngster and two declining veterans at their disposal.
Suddenly, that strong and well-balanced defence would look barren and lacking in depth.
Losing just one of the two would be bad enough, considering that both are still young and capable of growing, but losing both could prove to be disastrous.
Still, keeping them in the squad with basically no game time could also be rather difficult so Sarri might have a couple of big decisions to make.
Either give Rugani and Demiral a bit of his trust or risk his defence falling apart in the near future.