The Serie A champions welcomed Gonzalo Higuain back to the fold against Parma, and the club’s sporting director doesn’t feel more transfers are needed
Juventus are satisfied with the state of their squad and won’t be trying to sign Mauro Icardi from Serie A rivals Inter, according to sporting director Fabio Paratici.
Giorgio Chiellini’s goal helped Juve to a 1-0 win over Parma in the first game of the Maurizio Sarri era, though the new manager was absent from the game due to pneumonia.
Former Inter captain Icardi is widely expected to leave San Siro this summer but, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala already at the club, Paratici doesn’t believe they are in need of further reinforcements in attack.
“It is difficult to improve our squad, but we believe we have succeeded in this transfer window,” Paratici told Sky Sport Italia. “We’ve strengthened in the positions that we needed to.
“In attack, Higuain has returned, a great striker. And let’s not forget that we have Cristiano Ronaldo.
“We are very happy with the strikers we have. We have an international-level striker, we have players where, if you count the goals they have scored in their careers, the figures are really impressive. I think this is more than enough.”
Dybala’s sensational goal in Juve’s final friendly of pre-season led some to question why the Argentina forward had been close to leaving the club over the summer, as mooted transfers to Manchester United and Tottenham fell through.
He returned to the bench at Parma, with Sarri opting for an attacking trio of Ronaldo, Higuain and Douglas Costa. Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi came on rather than Dybala, but Paratici said it was simply a tactical decision.
“Dybala being on the bench is nothing to do with the transfer market,” he asserted. “He is the No.10 of Juventus, a great No.10. We are happy that he is here with us.”
New signing Danilo, meanwhile, also watched from the bench as Mattia De Sciglio was preferred at right-back.
Paratici sought to ease the concerns of some fans who have suggested Danilo is a downgrade on the departed Joao Cancelo, who moved to Manchester City in the closing stages of the English summer window.
“Juventus players only leave to go to very big clubs, for reasons of salary and status,” he said. “Cancelo gave his approval and we have been pursuing Danilo for a long time, ever since he was at Santos, then when he went to Porto and Real Madrid.
“For us, he is an important player like Cancelo was, and we decided that this operation worked well for us.
“We are at the very beginning of the season. Not only with Sarri but also with [Massimiliano] Allegri and [Antonio] Conte, the players who arrived often needed some time to adapt at the beginning.”
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