Retaining Andrea Pirlo Should Be Juventus’ Highest Priority

Andrea Pirlo draws closer to the end of his Juventus contract and retaining the 34-year-old should be Juventus’ highest priority.

You know youai??i??re well into the transfer season when the talk of the town revolves around those in the stands rather than those on the pitch. That was the case when a certain David Moyesai??i?? presence was made known in Italy. The Manchester United manager travelled to the island of Sardinia to keep an eye on Cagliari hosting Juventus.

Who was he there for? No one except him really knows. Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and Davide Astori were the names doing the rounds in the press. Itai??i??s quite incredible that the actual football game was quickly forgotten while what occupied the thoughts of the media was just who he was scouting.

And predictably enough, speculation took centre stage. A quick glance at some of the tabloids would have you believe that the three Juventus players in question had already played their last game for the club. Add a bit of perspective and youai??i??d begin to wonder why the players would leave a stable environment like Juventusai??i?? for a less than steady ship at Manchester. Bear in mind that the winter transfer window rarely brings about lucrative moves with clubs refusing to let go off their assets right in the middle of the season.

ai???Juventus in its history has always bought many and sold few when talking about champions. From our point of view, we do not want to sell Pogba and so far we have closed the door to any possible buyer. Our aim is to consolidate the group, we do not want to sell him, but certain assessments must be made late,ai??? director general Giuseppe Marotta noted. Itai??i??s no secret that clubs are lining up for their stars – which is a credit to the talent at their disposal. Yet, itai??i??s hard to picture them waving their goodbyes when theyai??i??re well settled, which is exactly what they are right now. What is certain is it will take an obscene amount of money to prize away either of the three; the chances of those happening in January are negligible.

Now thereai??i??s one player whose future looks a bit clearer after there were clouds drawing in. Andrea Pirlo looks set to extend his stay at Juventus according to reports emanating from Italy. The former Milan man has just six months left on his contract and there have been whispers of him moving away from Turin. A player who is the architect of the Juventus Empire that has conquered Italy cannot be overlooked or released easily and Marotta and co. have recognized that. Pirlo will be 35 by the time his current contract runs out and while clubs have always remained cautious in their approach to hand out contracts to players over 30, there should be no reason to not do so for Pirlo.

On the evidence of his current campaign, Pirlo has been a vital cog – strolling around with the casual nonchalance that only he can exhibit. Judging by those performances, there seems to be no reason as to why he wouldnai??i??t be deemed important enough or central to the clubai??i??s plans moving forward. Tying down Pirlo for another season or two could just prove to be the smartest piece of business the club does this window.

What Pirlo brings to the table is the ability to control the tempo of a game like few others. But a player of his caliber will demand to get adequate pitch time. Itai??i??s what he did at Milan and one of the main reasons behind his departure was the inability of the coach to promise him the game-time he desired. But that shouldnai??i??t be the case for Conte. While Allegriai??i??s Milan favored a more robust, general and hard-nosed midfielder in Mark Van Bommel just in front of the defense, Conte leans towards the exact opposite: A play-maker capable of spraying passes and pulling the strings.

“If Pirlo were to leave, we might as well dismantle the stadium bit by bit and stop playing football altogether.I hope that we will never deprive ourselves of a great player like him,” captain Buffon firmly backed his regista. Mindful of this, Marotta will be quick to act and with time, common ground should be found between the player and the management.

Pirlo will hang up his boots with the National side after the upcoming World Cup but that will not be the case as far as his club career goes. That may just be a bonus to Juventus as the fatigue factor might just take a back seat. For now Pirlo remains the creative fulcrum, the heart-beat of this Juventus side and while he may not be the best midfielder for the Bianconeri, he certainly represents their most important one.

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