Juventus Prepares for New Season Under Spalletti

Luciano Spalletti has drawn a clear line in the sand. The bell has rung, as he put it, and at Juventus anyone not ready for the new season will be “pushed towards the exit.”

On Sunday evening at the Stadio Stirpe, against newly promoted Frosinone (17.30 UK, 18.30 CEST), that message becomes reality. Randal Kolo Muani and Guglielmo Vicario will both start. No hints, no half-answers. Spalletti spelled it out.

Spalletti’s warning shot

The Juventus coach opened his pre-match press conference with a nod of respect before the hard truths.

“I want to congratulate Frosinone on returning to Serie A and my friend Massimiliano Alvini for the work he did to achieve promotion,” he said. Then the tone sharpened.

“The bell has rung, the season has started, and whoever isn't ready will feel themselves getting pushed towards the exit. Teams are always evolving, so players must be prepared to go with that flow. I also went to watch a few Serie B coaches at work, to keep myself up to date.”

It was a revealing line. Spalletti is not just looking up at the title contenders; he’s studying the divisions below, checking trends, updating his playbook. Juventus, out of the Champions League after last season’s late collapse to sixth place, cannot afford to stand still.

A squad under construction

The summer in Turin has been busy, sometimes chaotic, but undeniably active. Juventus are still reshaping their squad deep into the window, trying to turn a Europa League side back into a Champions League regular.

Kerim Alajbegovic, Jhon Lucumi, Jeff Ekhator and Zeki Celik have all arrived, joining rising star Kenan Yildiz in a group Spalletti describes as “cohesive, united” – but not yet the finished article.

“In future I'd like us to also be solid, robust, determined,” he explained. “In general we've had a good transfer market, some areas need a few cosmetic changes, others entire restoration projects.”

That last phrase summed up the job at hand. Some departments need a touch-up. Others need tearing down and rebuilding.

Alajbegovic, in particular, clearly excites him.

“We brought in a player like Alajbegovic who provides that sudden shock of energy, he sees the next move and can see it through. We've certainly made it more competitive all over the team.”

The intention is obvious: more intensity, more competition, fewer passengers.

Top-four race wide open

Juventus flirted with a Champions League place last season before stumbling badly at the finish. Sixth place means Europa League football and a different kind of pressure. Spalletti knows the landscape has shifted at the top of Serie A.

“There are seven or eight teams who can challenge for the top four, and last season we missed out. We've got to prove ourselves and become a balanced team. We have improved, but only the results will show us how much we've improved.”

Outside the club, expectations have already started to swell.

“Right now you all seem to think we'll be second or third,” he said to reporters, “but it's the usual game when you try to guess the line-up, they can't all be in the starting XI.”

He then ran through the competition. Milan “made good investments.” Inter and Napoli “were already strong.” Roma “signed important players.” Juventus are back in that pack, but no longer guaranteed to lead it.

“They are all up there and have the same ambition, we all want to win many games.”

Vicario in, Di Gregorio out, Perin in limbo

One of the most significant changes is in goal. The hierarchy is being rewritten in real time.

Michele Di Gregorio is on his way to Bournemouth on loan with an option to buy set at €14m. Mattia Perin, long-time deputy, is ready to drop down to Serie B with Palermo. Spalletti, though, has already nailed his colours to Vicario.

“We got Vicario because we consider him strong and experienced, good with his feet, and has just started training over the last week with the team. He will play, Perin will remain as long as he can be useful, while Di Gregorio is almost official now, so he's not even in the squad.”

It is a ruthless but clear reset. Juventus want a goalkeeper comfortable in possession, bold enough to start moves, not just end them.

Kolo Muani to lead the line

Up front, the big call is just as straightforward. Kolo Muani starts.

“Vicario and Kolo Muani will start, then after that we'll try to create a team that has balance, which gives individual players more freedom to express themselves within that framework,” Spalletti said.

His tactical focus is less on formations and more on fluidity.

“It is not system against system, but movement against movement, understanding where to create that space.”

That line could easily define Juventus’ season. Less obsession with a fixed shape, more emphasis on intelligent movement and coordinated runs, on players reading each other and the game.

Frosinone away is not the glamour tie of the calendar. But for Spalletti’s Juventus, it is something more important: the first hard test of a new hierarchy, a new spine, and a coach who has made it very clear that this season, there will be no hiding places.