There is a rare glimmer of good news filtering out of the Juventus training base this morning. Kenan Yildiz has returned to full training with the fir...
There is a rare glimmer of good news filtering out of the Juventus training base this morning. Kenan Yildiz has returned to full training with the first team squad, and for Luciano Spalletti, that arrival on the grass cannot come soon enough. The young Turk had been nursing a knock that kept him out of the side during a testing run of fixtures, and his absence was keenly felt. Without his ability to drift between the lines and commit defenders in one on one situations, the Bianconeri attack had begun to look predictable, pinned back by deep lying defences that knew there was no threat from the edge of the box.But while Yildiz's return is a cause for cautious optimism, another name has crept into the medical room. George Ekhator, the promising youngster who had been used as an impact option off the bench, is now undergoing further assessments. GoalZaza understands that the club are waiting on a definitive verdict regarding the severity of his problem, and that wait is an unsettling one for the coaching staff. Ekhator had shown genuine tactical flexibility, dropping into the half spaces to receive the ball under pressure and allowing the full backs to push on. If he is lost for a significant period, that option disappears from Spalletti's toolbox.That is the rub for this Juventus side right now. They are a team caught in a tug of war between revitalisation and disruption. You lose one key creative thread and another player steps up, only for a second knock to pull him back down again. It makes coherent squad planning a nightmare. When you are trying to build chemistry in the final third, such chopping and changing becomes the enemy of fluency. Spalletti will have to decide whether to ease Yildiz back gently or throw him straight into the mixer for the weekend's match. Given the current state of the offensive output, does he really have a choiceThe sight of Yildiz moving freely in training drills is a massive psychological fillip for the group. He offers something that no other player in this squad quite does: the ability to draw two men and still find a pass. If the medical team gives the green light, expect to see his name back on the teamsheet, because right now, this Juventus attack needs his imagination like a desert needs rain. As for Ekhator, the club will be praying for good news. The squad is thin enough as it is, and losing depth in the forward areas now, with the fixture list piling up, would be a bitter blow to any hopes of a sustained push up the table.
