One of the transfer sagas of the summer has ended with Felipe Melo finally signing for Juventus. The deal was confirmed last night for a total of £21.5 million. Marco Marchionni moves in the opposite direction and was valued at £4 million in the deal. Many people have suggested that this deal now makes Juve Scudetto favourites, and in many respects they may be right. The depth, up front especially, is there although if any weaknesses are there they are to be found in the right and left back positions.
Juve line up 2009/2010: 4:2:3:1
Buffon: Grygera, Cannavaro, Chielini, De Ceglie: Sissoko, Melo: Camoranesi, Diego, Giovinco: Amauri.
Playing this way would allow Del Piero or Iaqunita to play in the three behind the striker, or alternatively allowing Iaqunita or Trezeguet to alternate with Amauri. This line up could also revert to a 4:3:1:2 with Del Piero, Trezeguet or Iaquinta playing up front alongside Amauri and Camoranesi falling back into the three man midfield.
Marchisio is also a key cog for Juve and will offer great cover, with Zebina, Legrotaglie and Molinaro options for the defence. As mentioned though Juve would be wise to sell off players like Poulson and invest that money into a left or right back, Santos and Santacroce have been mooted for this role.
Inter Respond
Inter however have responded today, signing Bayern Munich and Brazil centre back Lucio. He joins Samuel, Chivu, Cordoba and Burdisso in a very strong back line for Inter. However, winger Maxwell has been signed by Barcelona for £3 million due to the emergence of young star Davide Santon. With Maxwell moving on, Chivu may on occasions be used on the left side also. Barcelona's Alex Hleb may also be on his way to the Biscone on a years loan with an option to buy at the end of the season. Hleb could represent the type of player that Inter have lacked for a while, a midfield architect that the play can be built around. Cambiasso, Muntari and Zanetti are rocks in the midfield, but they don't complement the attacking elements quite so well. Stankovic and new signing Motta offer much more in this respect, but a player with Hlebs creative eye may make the difference in Europe and Serie A this season.
AC Milan still lagging behind
AC Milan are still lagging behind the mercato endeavours of Inter and Juve this summer. In fact, they have some work to do to catch Genoa, Napoli and Palermo in this respect. However, effectively with Nesta returning and Silva and Oneywu they do have three new defenders and Zambrotta and Jankulovski are still highly competitive also. The problem is that they don't have the depth of Inter and Juve yet, which may handicap them in challenging on all fronts. They need a league win, and if they secure Fabiano they may be able to do that. Additionally, Milan have been looking again at Sao Paolo's playmaker Hernanes and according to reports a fee of £10 million could be enough to secure a deal.
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