Once upon a time in Turin, Juventus were blessed with some of the best midfielders at the time.
Watching Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba plying their trade on the pitch feels like a distant memory, especially amidst the club’s current woes.
Throughout the last few years, this department has slowly degenerated into the squad’s main Achilles heel – even if the arrival of Manuel Locatelli last summer slightly improved the situation.
Therefore, Max Allegri is still struggling to field a strong unit in the middle of the park – despite trying out numerous formulas since his return.
But how exactly should the pecking order look like? We’ll rank the current midfield from the bottom all the way to the top.
6- Aaron Ramsey
There’s no doubt that the Welshman is at the very bottom of the pecking order. In fact, we’re not even sure if he’s still in the pecking order altogether.
The former Arsenal man has yet to make an impact since his arrival at the club, and his repeated public outbursts have hardly helped.
Ramsey’s days at Juventus could be numbered.
5- Adrien Rabiot
Despite a string of underwhelming performances, the Frenchman is still amongst the players who are regularly found in Allegri’s first XI.
Perhaps his “ability” to play as a left winger has boosted his playing time, but when it comes to the central roles, the former PSG man should be relatively low on the pecking order.
4- Rodrigo Bentancur
Another midfielder who is currently underachieving at the club. But while his present might be bleak, the Uruguayan’s past and future lifted him from the bottom of the list.
Unlike Ramsey and Rabiot, the former Boca Juniors man have seen better days at the club, where he showcased his vast promise.
As for the future, Bentancur is only 24-years-old, so his still has room for some much needed improvement.
3- Arthur
The Brazilian might be ranked a bit too high for someone who rarely appeared this season, but he gets the benefit of the doubt.
The former Barcelona man is arguably the best technical player in the bunch, and perhaps he’ll manage to add some quality to the team once he regains his full fitness.
2- Weston McKennie
Few weeks ago, the American would have been rated much lower on the list. However, he earns his runner-up spot thanks to a sudden but noticeable improvement in his last performances for the Old Lady.
The Texan has once again found his energetic displays as well as his knack his goals, and it remains to be seen if his can maintain this sort of level.
1- Manuel Locatelli
The former Sassuolo man has to fight for his place within the Italian national team, but at Juventus, he’s almost an automatic starter.
Locatelli arguably plays best as a box-to-box midfielder, but the lack of a true Regista at Allegri’s disposal saw him being deployed in a deeper role.
Nevertheless, it only took him a couple of months to prove that he belongs at Juventus, whilst others have failed in this quest.
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