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Juventus have been excellent in the transfer market in recent seasons and have made some shrewd signings. Known as the king of free transfers, they have signed many well established players for free with the likes of Andre Pirlo, Fabio Cannavaro and Sami Khedira arriving in Turin for nothing.
But while these well-established stars have helped Juventus win nine Serie A titles, they have let go of several young players who have shone elsewhere.
Juventus regret selling young players too soon
The Old Lady are already paying the price for letting go of players like Leonardo Spinazzola, Ciro Immobile and Kingsley Coman. While these sales helped them earn generous fees, they missed out on the incredible talent that could have been provided by these players. This forced the club to spend big on other players in the transfer market.
So here we take a look at the five players that Juventus sold too soon:
#5 Domenico Berardi
Between 2013 and 2015, Domenico Berardi was partially owned by Juventus.
Juventus signed the player on a co-ownership deal from Sassuolo after being impressed with his talents as an up-and-coming star.
But after the end of Italy's complicated co-ownership system, Juventus sold the entire rights of the player to Sassuolo for just €10 million.
Since then Berardi has starred for Sassuolo and has been an integral part of the team, making 188 appearances and scoring 63 goals while assisting a further 48. Last season, Berardi had his best output in terms of goals, as he scored 17 times in Serie A for Sassuolo.
Berardi also played an integral part in Italy's Euro 2020 winning campaign this summer.
Juventus had the financial power to purchase the entire right for Domenico Berardi in 2015 but it still baffles everyone as to why the Old Lady let go of the talented winger.
#4 Cristian Romero
When Cristian Romero went on loan to Atlanta from Juventus, there was not much noise regarding the deal. After all, he was just a young but unproven centre-back who was leaving a big club due to lack of chances in the first-team.
But fast forward to this summer, and the Argentine is suddenly one of the most exciting centre-backs in Europe after having a brilliant season with both club and country.
Romero played a key role in helping Atalanta qualify for the Champions League. The centre-back made 42 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring three goals and providing five assists. His impressive performances saw him win Serie A's 'Defender of the Season' award.
He was also a key part of the Argentina squad that won the Copa America 2021. La Albiceleste managed to keep a clean sheet in each of the three games Romero played.
Atlanta managed to score a bargain as they bought the defender permanently for just £16 million. They have subsequently sold the defender to Tottenham Hotspur for £42.5 million this summer.
If only Juventus were a little more patient with Romero, they could've possibly had a long-term successor solution at the heart of their defense.
#3 Kingsley Coman
In 2014, Juventus did another brilliant piece of business as the Serie A giants signed Kingsley Coman as a free agent after his contract at PSG expired.
But the Frenchman managed to spend just one season in Serie A, making 22 appearances in total before joining Bayern Munich on loan in the 2015-16 campaign.
The move was eventually made permanent and since then, Coman has added to his enviable medal collection on a regular basis while in Germany. The Frenchman matured into a top performer at the Allianz Arena and has consistently been performing for the club. He even scored the winner in the 2020 Champions League final against PSG.
Juventus then signed Douglas Costa, who was supposed to be an upgrade on Coman. But the Brazilian was nothing more than an expensive flop, and has currently been sent on loan to Gremio.
#2 Leonardo Spinazzola
Leonardo Spinazzola has emerged as one of Italy's top stars from Euro 2020, despite getting injured in the quarter-finals.
Spinazzola currently plays his club football at AS Roma but started his senior career at Juventus. In the initial years, Spinazzola had loan spells at Atalanta, Vicenza and Perugia. He had a decent spell at Perugia but his major breakthrough came during his second loan spell at Atalanta in 2016.
He became an integral part of Gian Piero Gasperini's side and spent two years at the club before returning from loan in 2018. Despite missing the first part of the 2018-19 season due to injury, he proved a solid option for Juventus during the latter stages of the season.
Yet the Serie A giants decided to sell him to Roma in exchange for young prospect Luca Pellegrini. While Spinazzola starred for Roma and Italy, Pellegrini had decent loan spells at Cagliari and Genoa, making it another transfer mistake made by the Bianconeri.
#1 Ciro Immobile
Before settling in at Lazio, Ciro Immobile had spells at several clubs, making it hard to recall that he was a product of Juventus' academy.
Immobile made just three appearances for Juventus in Serie A before a breakthrough loan season in 2011-2012 at Pescara where his 28 goals lifted the Serie B side into the top-tier.
He was unable to follow up on his form the following season with Genoa and was sold to Torino. He had more success with Torino where he scored 22 goals in 33 appearances to win his first Serie A top scorer award.
An €18 million move to the Bundesliga followed, but he scored just three times in 24 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, followed by an unsuccessful six-month spell at Sevilla.
He finally returned to Lazio in 2016 and has flourished at the club ever since. The Italian forward has scored 150 goals in 220 appearances for the club while also winning the European Golden shoe in 2020.
Although the Euro 2020 winner took some time to settle, his goalscoring record proved that he is a player of the highest caliber.
Considering how Juventus are in desperate need of a prolific no.9 at the moment, the Old Lady might look back on Ietting Immobile leave as a disappointment.
