Balzarini slams Juventus for selling a ‘technically-gifted’ player in the summer | OneFootball

Italian journalist Gianni Balzarini feels Juventus made the wrong decision by offloading Alberto Costa in the summer.

The 22-year-old had only arrived in Turin last January, after completing a €13 million transfer from Vitoria Guimaraes.

The young right-back had a relatively slow start, as he had to wait several months before earning the opportunity to prove his worth. While he wasn’t able to earn any playing time under Thiago Motta, he became a regular starter for Igor Tudor in the final rounds of the previous campaign, and also took his chance in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Juventus traded Alberto Costa for Joao Mario

This season, Costa made a swift return to his home nation through the gates of Porto on an indirect swap deal that saw Joao Mario move in the opposite direction.

Costa has already cemented himself as a pillar for the Dragao, as evidenced by his five assists in seven appearances. On the other hand, Mario has yet to fully convince Tudor, who has instead opted to field Pierre Kalulu in an unusual position as a right wing-back.

(Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Therefore, Juventus will return to the market in January in order to bolster their wing-back department.

The Bianconeri are currently being linked with Atletico Madrid’s Nahuel Molina, who is no longer a starter in Diego Simeone’s team.

Balzarini feels Juventus should regret selling Alberto Costa

For his part, Balzarini believes the Argentine would be a decent solution, but his services wouldn’t have been required at Continassa had the club kept Costa.

“Molina, in my opinion, is a good player, as he can raise the team’s technical level. Maybe a little,” said the Sport Mediaset journalist on his YouTube channel (via JuventusNews24).

“However, Juventus already had a technically gifted player on the wing, and his name is Alberto Costa, who went to Porto.

“He’s becoming an assist man, having already provided five assists this season. Everyone’s enthusiastic about him.

“Joao Mario has arrived in his place, and he’s less defensive and more offensive. Sometimes, not all transfer deals end up being successful. So, if Molina has to come, then Molina is fine. He wants to play, he wants to prove himself, and that’s good,” concluded Balzarini.