Rome (AFP)
The return of Alvaro Morata closed the summer soap opera of the quest for a new center-forward at Juventus, and perhaps also closed the case at Roma, where Edin Dzeko, after dreaming of the Bianconeri, left for stay.
Sunday night's Roma-Juventus (8:45 p.m. local, 6:45 p.m. GMT), the first poster of the season in Serie A, Dzeko believed he would compete in the Turin jersey.
The meeting should instead seal the return home of the Bosnian captain and striker.
Since August, the Italian transfer window has been punctuated by the quest for Juve's new center-forward, to replace Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain, quickly informed by new coach Andrea Pirlo that he would not be part of the new era.
For weeks the names of Arkadiusz Milik, Edin Dzeko, Luis Suarez and even Olivier Giroud have been waltzing.
A series of twists and turns marked by the astonishing "Suarez affair": the Uruguayan came to take an Italian exam in Perugia to obtain a passport essential for a possible transfer to Juve, a test now suspected of having been arranged with the complicity of the University and targeted by an investigation.
- Morata plays collective -
Suarez finally joined Atlético Madrid and it was Alvaro Morata - a ghost - who landed at Juve, once Higuain's departure from Inter Miami was confirmed.
The 27-year-old Spaniard was arguably not the most impressive statistically short list.
But he has the advantage of knowing the Bianconera house where he spent two seasons (2014-2016), as well as his captain Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom he played for several years at Real Madrid.
"Of course I would like to score 40 goals, but I've seen a lot of them scoring lots of goals without ever winning anything. I put in about fifteen, sometimes a little more, but it's still a team sport. I had only thought of individual rewards, I would have played tennis! ”he said on Friday.
The Spanish international (33 caps, 17 goals) highlights his concern for the collective and his guarantees in terms of adaptation: "They know me, my teammates know that I will give everything, the coach knows that I will do whatever 'he will ask ".
Morata is particularly associated with Turin with memories of the beautiful campaign in the Champions League (2014-2015), in what was the most successful of his two seasons in Turin, alongside a certain Andrea Pirlo on the field.
He notably scored Juve's goal in the C1 final lost to Barcelona (1-3).
- Dzeko "very motivated" -
The equation for Pirlo now is to find what place to give to the Spaniard, whose profile seems to fall between the finishing side of Suarez or the more discounting side of Dzeko.
And how to integrate the "9" (he took over this number, which had no owner for two seasons in Turin) alongside Ronaldo and Dybala, but also attacking midfielder Kulusevski or Ramsey.
"Morata is not a third choice, but it was a priority: he has characteristics that we were looking for, he attacks depth very well," Pirlo said at a press conference on Saturday.
If Morata, just arrived, could start on the bench on Sunday, Dzeko should start, after being a substitute on Matchday 1 in Verona last week (match lost on the green carpet by Roma), pending his hypothetical transfer to Turin.
"We are delighted that he is our captain and that he will remain so," giallorosso general manager Guido Fienga said on Friday.
"We know his value and his professionalism, if he enters Sunday, he will give the maximum," he added of the 34-year-old Bosnian striker, who scored 16 goals last season.
"I spoke with Edin, he is very motivated", added Saturday the Portuguese coach of Roma, Paulo Fonseca, confirming the tenure of the Bosnian at the forefront of the attack.
Even if the transfer window is not yet closed (October 5) and Dzeko can still go to console himself elsewhere, he will certainly want to give Juve some regrets.
© 2020 AFP