Loïs Openda Reflects on Juventus Stint: No Regrets
Loïs Openda has no regrets about Juventus. The numbers say his year in Turin was a flop. He doesn’t agree.
The Belgium international, now trying to relaunch himself at Lyon, looked back on that difficult 2025-26 campaign in an interview with L’Equipe, relayed in Italy by Gazzetta. One season, 34 appearances in all competitions, just one goal. A move from RB Leipzig that never really caught fire.
And yet, he’s adamant.
“It wasn’t a mistake, and it allowed me to work on aspects I hadn’t considered,” Openda said. “I knew exactly what I was getting into, and I’m sure that in other circumstances, it would have gone better.”
Chemistry with David, clash of styles with Vlahovic
Openda’s reflection is as much about tactics as it is about form. He described a Juventus side that never truly adapted to his main weapon: runs in behind.
“The coach wanted me, but Vlahovic and David were already playing in my position,” he explained. “I had good chemistry with David, but the team wasn’t used to playing with a player who runs in behind, and Vlahovic tended to keep the ball to himself.”
Those few lines draw a clear picture. Jonathan David, with whom he clicked. Dušan Vlahovic, a very different kind of centre-forward, more inclined to receive to feet and dominate the box. And Openda, a striker who lives off space, trying to find his place in a system that rarely stretched the pitch the way he needed.
He pointed to Serie A’s broader tactical landscape to underline the issue.
“In Italy, the team that really exploits depth is Inter. Roma are only just starting to understand it.”
For a player built to attack space, that matters. At Juventus, the vertical runs that made him dangerous in Germany were often a secondary option, not the main plan.
A season that forced a decision
Openda worked under Igor Tudor and Luciano Spalletti during that single season in Turin, fighting for minutes and a role that suited him.
“I tried to get my chance, and sometimes I did, but towards the end of the season, I realised that to play, I had to leave,” he admitted.
The conclusion was brutal but simple. If he wanted to play his football, it had to be somewhere else.
That somewhere, for now, is Lyon. The 26-year-old is on loan in Ligue 1 for 2026-27, with two goals in eight appearances so far. The French club paid €3.5m for the temporary deal and, crucially, have no option to buy.
It leaves Openda in a curious position: still tied to Juventus, but rebuilding his reputation in France, determined to prove that the year in Turin was a detour, not a dead end.
