ROME - As we approach the exciting prospect of a new season of European football, we find ourselves once again in the middle of the annual summer transfer flurry and Juventus it seems have already made several bold financial statements. Having enjoyed a fruitful 2014/15 season, adding the Coppa Italia and a retained Serie A title to an ever-heavier trophy cabinet, i biaconeri have spent over €69 million on strikers alone this summer in a bid to go one better than last year’s excellent UEFA Champions League campaign and win the coveted trophy. Italian football has now suffered a five year drought in Europe, no team having won a major European competition since José Mourinho’s Internazionale triumphed in 2010, but are Juventus now capable of challenging the recent Spanish dominance and win the football’s ultimate club competition?

 

  Money spent demands but doesn’t ensure domestic or global success as any frustrated Manchester City fan will admit. Juventus however, have certainly financially committed to the challenge bringing in Sami Khedira from Real Madrid, the €32 million, 21 year old Paulo Dybala from Palermo, Croatian Mario Mandzukic and striker Simone Zaza as well as several others including Fiorentina’s Neto who will provide depth for the squad.

 

  They will certainly add to an already strong group of players in Turin. Sami Khedira in particular will add invaluable experience at the highest level in midfield, already boasting a Champions League winner’s medal from Madrid’s 2012 victory. Although replacing the irreplaceable, ageing Andrea Pirlo will no doubt be daunting for the German, Khedira defines midfield stability, work-rate and will allow for matchwinners such as the athletic Frenchman Paul Pogba to dictate and determine the bigger.

 

  In Mandzukic, coach Massimo Allegri has signed a €19 million, imposing striker who averages a goal every other game and has done so in both Germany and Spain, netting 20 in 42 games last year for Athletico Madrid in La Liga. A proven guarantor of goals, he is exactly what Juventus needed and will necessarily replace the strikes the departing Carlos Tevez will take with him to Argentina.

 

  On balance, Juventus have been reasonably savvy in the transfer market, Khedira arriving on a free transfer. There remains one gaping hole in their squad however. If i bianconeri wish to win in Europe, replacing Munich-bound Arturo Vidal will remain imperative. The creative Chilean Vidal was key to their run in last year’s Champions League and will be sorely missed in Turin. Mario Goetze has been lined up as the ideal replacement, with Chelsea’s Oscar amongst others also targeted. The German World Cup winner Gotze would allegedly demand €6m in wages, offering a playmaking, attacking force, a much needed asset for the Italian giants currently undeniably lacking in this department. Essentially, Juventus must grit their teeth and pay.

 

  Gotze is exactly the statement they need. An exceptional footballer but arguably more importantly he is name to fear. Now known as the man who won the World Cup for Germany, scoring the only goal in the 1-0 win over Argentina, his reputation counts and would silence any doubters that Juventus have returned to the top. To win at the very highest level, you need the pre-match intimidation that names such as Ronaldo, Messi and Gotze can give a team sheet on a rainy Tuesday night away in Manchester.

 

  Tactically strong, manager Allegri can conquer Europe. His side had one of the best defensive records in Europe in 2014/15 conceding only three goals in their last eight Champions League matches running up to the final, including clashes with Atlético and Borussia Dortmund as well as stifling Real Madrid in the semis.Well organised, it unequivocally helped that perhaps the best goalkeeper the world has ever witnessed was guarding its net with a characteristic, perennial elegance: 37 year old legend Gianluigi Buffon.

 

  All things considered, there is no reason why the Italian champions next year won’t go on and win their first Champions League title since 1996. With enough squad depth, tactical competence and defensive stability to challenge any European side, Allegri’s team must now find enough goals by purchasing a trequartista to compete with the immeasurable flair of opponents such as Barcelona and Madrid.

 

  Gotze is a must, Khedira needs to stay fit but perhaps the most important challenge now facing the football club is to persuade the most popular man in Europe, Paul Pogba, to remain in Turin. With a pass success rate of 83% in last year as well as a total of 24 touches in the opposition penalty area in nine appearances incredibly impressive for a central midfielder ever-present at the back for the side, keeping hold of Pogba will be the deciding factor for Juventus if they want to break the 5 year drought next year and return an Italian side to the top of the European elite.