Walter Zenga Warns Juventus About Centre-Forward Issue
Walter Zenga has sounded the alarm for Juventus.
Even after the arrivals of Randal Kolo Muani from PSG and Nick Woltemade from Newcastle United, the former Italy goalkeeper is convinced one problem remains unsolved: a real centre-forward.
“They don’t have a Number 9 who can score 15 goals per season,” Zenga warned on Sky Sport Italia, laying bare his doubts over the club’s transfer strategy.
Juve head to Sassuolo under pressure
Juventus travel to face Sassuolo this evening at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST), weighed down not only by expectation but by a growing injury list that is starting to reshape Luciano Spalletti’s options.
- Manuel Locatelli
- Jeremie Boga
- Weston McKennie
- Andrea Cambiaso
- Kenan Yildiz
- Khephren Thuram
- Jeff Ekhator
- Juan Cabal
are all unavailable, stripping Juve of depth and variety across the pitch. Spalletti, already looking dejected on the touchline in recent outings, now has to improvise again.
Reports suggest Juventus will start Kolo Muani up front, supported by Kerim Alajbegovic, Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Conceicao. On paper, it is a fluid, mobile front line. In Zenga’s eyes, it is also one without a natural finisher.
“Kolo Muani is not a Number 9, that kind of hitman who can score 15 goals per season, and neither is Woltemade really,” he said, cutting through the optimism around the new signings.
The ghosts of Vlahovic and Milik
Zenga’s criticism bites harder when he looks at what Juventus once had – and let slip away.
“To think that Arek Milik has been out injured for two years and is still on the Juve books,” he noted. The Polish striker remains a name on the squad list more than a weapon on the pitch, his long absence a reminder of plans that never materialised.
Then comes the real sting.
“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.”
That is the heart of Zenga’s argument. Juventus once built around classic penalty-box forwards. Now they are leaning on versatility and movement, but may have sacrificed guaranteed goals in the process.
Nick Woltemade, another tall, technically gifted forward, fits that profile of a modern hybrid attacker rather than an old-fashioned poacher. Useful, intelligent, dangerous between the lines – but not, in Zenga’s view, the ruthless finisher this team still lacks.
Spalletti’s next move
Given the characteristics of Kolo Muani and Woltemade, Zenga expects Spalletti to reach for the chalkboard again. The Italy coach turned Juve boss has never been afraid of tactical experiments, and this squad almost forces his hand.
Without a classic No. 9, Juventus may morph into something more fluid, with rotating forwards, late runs from midfield and constant interchanges rather than a single reference point in the box.
That can be thrilling when it clicks. It can also leave a team begging for someone to turn half-chances into goals when the margins tighten.
Tonight in Sassuolo, under the lights and under scrutiny, we start to find out whether Juventus can live without that guaranteed 15-goal striker – or whether Zenga’s warning will echo through their season.
