Walter Zenga's Warning to Juventus: No True Striker

Walter Zenga has fired a sharp warning at Juventus on the eve of their trip to Sassuolo, insisting that despite a busy summer up front, Luciano Spalletti still lacks a true penalty-box predator.

The Bianconeri head to the Mapei this evening (19.45 UK time, 20.45 CEST) under pressure and under-manned, and Zenga is not buying into the idea that the new-look attack has solved their biggest problem.

“They don’t have a 15-goal striker”

Juventus moved aggressively in the market, bringing in Randal Kolo Muani from PSG and Nick Woltemade from Newcastle United. On paper, it looks like a refresh. In Zenga’s eyes, it looks like a gamble.

“Kolo Muani is not a Number 9, that kind of hitman who can score 15 goals per season, and neither is Woltemade really,” the former goalkeeper and coach told Sky Sport Italia.

That’s the heart of his criticism: plenty of movement, plenty of talent, but no classic finisher to anchor the attack and guarantee numbers across a long Serie A campaign.

Reports in Italy suggest Spalletti will start Kolo Muani as the central reference point, with Kerim Alajbegovic, Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Conceicao working around him. It sounds fluid. It also underlines Zenga’s concern. None of those names fit the traditional poacher profile Juventus fans grew used to in previous eras.

Injury crisis and lingering regrets

Spalletti’s options are being stripped away before a ball is even kicked tonight. Manuel Locatelli, Jeremie Boga, Weston McKennie, Andrea Cambiaso, Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Jeff Ekhator and Juan Cabal are all out, turning a tricky away game into a potential trap.

In that context, Zenga’s look back at what Juventus once had feels even more pointed.

“To think that Arek Milik has been out injured for two years and is still on the Juve books,” he said. “Above all, to think that they had a striker like Dusan Vlahovic who left for reasons we don't know, but which are presumably tied to his agent and the contract.

“In theory, Juve had two strikers in the squad there with the potential to score 25-30 goals between them.”

It’s a brutal reminder. Between the long-term absence of Milik and the departure of Vlahovic, Juventus have watched their purest sources of goals vanish, yet still arrive at a new season without a clear heir to that role.

Spalletti’s next experiment?

Nick Woltemade, signed from Newcastle United, offers height, mobility and link-up play. Kolo Muani thrives when he can drift, attack space and combine with runners. Both are intelligent forwards. Neither fits the old-school “fox in the box” label that Zenga keeps circling back to.

Considering those characteristics, the former Italy international expects Spalletti to lean into invention rather than tradition. The coach has never been afraid to rip up the template, and this squad almost demands it.

A false nine? Rotating front four? Midfielders crashing the box to make up the numbers? With no guaranteed 15-goal striker to lean on, Juventus may have to build their season on collective scoring rather than a single talisman.

If Zenga is right, the real question for Juventus isn’t who starts up front tonight. It’s whether this version of the club can still compete at the top without that one ruthless finisher they used to take for granted.