Zenga Critiques Juventus Attack: Missing Classic Centre-Forward
Walter Zenga has sounded the alarm over Juventus’ attack, arguing that even after the arrivals of Randal Kolo Muani from PSG and Nick Woltemade from Newcastle United, the squad still lacks a classic centre-forward capable of delivering 15 league goals a season.
Juventus head to Sassuolo tonight, kicking off at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST), with Luciano Spalletti juggling an injury list that keeps growing. Manuel Locatelli, Jeremie Boga, Weston McKennie, Andrea Cambiaso, Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Jeff Ekhator and Juan Cabal are all out, stripping depth from a side already searching for a new attacking identity.
Zenga questions Juve’s transfer logic
Reports in Italy suggest Spalletti will start Kolo Muani up front, supported by Kerim Alajbegovic, Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Conceicao. On paper, it looks dynamic. Zenga is not convinced.
“Kolo Muani is not a Number 9, that kind of hitman who can score 15 goals per season, and neither is Woltemade really,” the former goalkeeper and coach told Sky Sport Italia.
It’s a blunt assessment, but it cuts to the heart of Juventus’ rebuild. The club has invested in mobility, versatility and pressing from the front. Zenga sees a glaring hole where the ruthless finisher used to stand.
He pointed straight at the recent past to make his case.
“To think that Arek Milik has been out injured for two years and is still on the Juve books,” he said. “Above all, to think that they had a striker like Dusan Vlahovic who left for reasons we don’t know, but which are presumably tied to his agent and the contract.
“In theory, Juve had two strikers in the squad there with the potential to score 25-30 goals between them.”
From that vantage point, Juventus have gone from a proven goals partnership to a puzzle of profiles that don’t quite fit the traditional No. 9 mould.
Spalletti’s next experiment?
The tension is clear. Kolo Muani thrives when he can drift, combine, attack space. Woltemade offers size and link-up play, not the penalty-box obsession of a pure poacher. They are forwards, but not the old-school reference point Zenga is talking about.
Given those characteristics, the former Italy international expects Spalletti to reach for something more inventive. The coach has never been afraid to rip up the template and redraw the attack, and this Juventus side may force another tactical twist.
With the injuries piling up, the old strikers gone and the new ones under scrutiny before a ball is even kicked in Sassuolo, Spalletti’s next move in reshaping this front line will say a lot about where Juventus are really heading this season.
