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The 2026-27 Serie A season starts in two weeks. As things stand right now, one of Juventus\u2019 biggest issues entering the summer mercato still has not been resolved \u2014 and who really knows that it actually will before things kick off against Frosinone on Aug. 23.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That is because Michele Di Gregorio is still on Juve\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That is the same Michele Di Gregorio who, as things stand right now, is one of the Bianconeri\u2019s biggest liabilities. And should. be treated as such. Which means that there is no way in hell Luciano Spalletti can go into the opener against Frosinone with Di Gregorio walking out of the tunnel as the player immediately behind captain Manuel Locatelli as Juve\u2019s starting goalkeeper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Not after another instance \u2014 albeit it one that is a preseason friendly where no points are actually on the line \u2014 of Di Gregorio not only allowing a goal on the first shot he faced but also making blunders on both goals he conceded. (There were other issues with other Juventus players and how they defended (or attempted to), but they were two savable shots that ended up being Inter goals.) The second one looked a little something like this \u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It\u2019s not good. The first goal wasn\u2019t much better. That is the guy who has started each of Juventus\u2019 preseason games and had one of the worst single-season performances from a Bianconeri goalkeeper in quite some time. (Like decades, folks.) He\u2019s become a massive liability \u2014 which is something you never want to say about your goalkeeper (or any player at this level).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But we still don\u2019t really know if it\u2019s going to be Di Gregorio starting or somebody else come Aug. 23 at the Stadio Benito Stripe in Frosinone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
All summer \u2014 and even before that \u2014 we\u2019ve heard that Juventus are in the market for a new goalkeeper and that Spalletti has made it clear to whatever management that was in charge at the time something has to change in goal. They\u2019ve agreed to personal terms with Aisson Becker, only to see him stay at Liverpool. We\u2019ve seen Juve then pivot and agree to personal terms for Emi Martinez, only to balk at Aston Villa\u2019s demands and basically see that deal go up in smoke, too. They\u2019ve gone more than two months trying to sign two of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That means, two weeks before the season starts, we don\u2019t actually know who Juventus\u2019 starting goalkeeper really is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Maybe this is all a ploy by Spalletti and the management team to have Di Gregorio in goal during preseason fixtures to try and attract some sort of interest that results in something more than just a report or two on social media about a club in Italy or elsewhere having requested information and then nothing more than that. Maybe come two Saturdays from now, it\u2019s Mattia Perin starting in goal no matter what and all of these Di Gregorio-related worries are something of a moot topic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I get that there are still a lot of issues with this Juventus roster. They\u2019ve got a left back who is not very good at defending. They\u2019ve got a midfield that is far from an imposing unit and still struggles to consistently be a productive source on both ends of the field. We all hope that Randal Kolo Muani can improve the attack as the new leader of the line and No. 9, but that\u2019s only to be determined as these next few months go on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But goalkeeper has to toward the top of the list \u2014 and as of the second weekend of August is still just as big of a need to address on the transfer market as it was the second the 2025-26 season ended.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
At this point it can be Zion Suzuki, Anatoliy Trubin, Guglielmo Vicario or somebody else. Just as long as it\u2019s not Di Gregorio as Juventus\u2019 starter against Frosinone two weeks from now. He\u2019s crashed and has had plenty of time to lift himself up off the mat. He hasn\u2019t done that, and now it\u2019s time to go another direction. Juve are likely to be playing another season living on the fine margins, and that means they can\u2019t afford to have such a giant question mark in goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n