Juventus director Fabio Paratici has admitted that Emre Can was not the right fit for Maurizio Sarri’s team.
The midfielder left for Borussia Dortmund last month, where he will remain on loan for the remainder of the season and can join the German club for £21m in the summer.
Why has Can left Juve after less than two seasons? Five things to know…
- Emre Can joined Juventus in 2018, just after losing the Champions League final with Liverpool.
- He was part of the Old Lady’s title-winning campaign last season, but has only featured in eight league games this time round.
- Can expressed his ‘shock and anger’ earlier this season after being omitted from Juve’s Champions League squad.
- As such he has now joined BVB on loan for the rest of the season with a view to a permanent deal.
- Can will now look to add a Champions League medal to his collection with Dortmund, but according to William Hill odds*, the German club are 33/1 to win the competition, while Liverpool are second-favourites at 4/1 and Juve are 10/1.
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Few would have saw this coming last season, but Sarri’s approach is clearly not suited to the midfielder’s style, with Blaise Matuidi, Miralem Pjanic, Rodrigo Bentancur, Adrien Rabiot, Sami Khedira and Aaron Ramsey all ahead of Can in the pecking order.
This is something which Paratici clearly recognised, as he has since revealed in a recent interview with DAZN the real reason behind the midfielder’s departure.
He said: “We have a competitive squad, so the coach uses it in the way he considers to be best for the individual match. We know that now in football you need more than 11 players, it’s all about rotation and options.
“Emre Can is an important player, he had a good season last year, but for the type of football we are adopting this season, he probably didn’t have the right characteristics to really fit in.
“He remains an excellent player, as shown by the transfer fee that Borussia Dortmund paid for him.”
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Will Dortmund revive Can’s career?
Can’s decision to quit Liverpool in the aftermath of their defeat to Real Madrid in 2018 was met with contempt by fans. On paper, it made sense: Juventus are a massive club who dominate their league every season, and it seemed to be only a matter of time before they won the Champions League.
Despite signing Cristiano Ronaldo in the same window, Juve were knocked out by Ajax last season as, ironically, Liverpool went on to win the trophy for the sixth time. Since then, the Reds have won the Super Cup, the Club World Cup and are a whopping 22 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
In the meantime, Can has struggled for game time. However, he is likely to be given a more prominent role at Borussia Dortmund, whose exciting football has been making headlines globally this season. And as such, a move back home may be perfect for the versatile German.