Cristiano Giuntoli’s return to the Allianz Stadium on Sunday will bring an unfinished Juventus chapter back into view. Now Atalanta’s sporting director, he will face his former club for the first time since leaving Turin more than a year ago, after two seasons in which Juventus won a Coppa Italia, pursued a younger and less expensive squad, and completed 16 incoming transfers.
The reshaping of the club also carried a cost. Several players developed through the Next Gen pathway moved on, among them Nicolò Fagioli, Matías Soulé, Dean Huijsen, Moise Kean and Tarik Muharemović. Giuntoli’s recruitment record was therefore never only about arrivals: it was part of a wider attempt to alter the age profile and wage structure at Continassa.
A Juventus rebuild in 16 arrivals
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Giuntoli’s first summer window, in 2023, produced one signing: Timothy Weah, bought from Lille for €10.3 million plus €2.1 million in bonuses. The United States international later joined Marseille in 2025, on a €1 million loan with a compulsory purchase clause worth €14.4 million and a possible further €4.1 million in add-ons.
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In January 2024, Juventus moved ahead of Inter for Tiago Djaló, paying Lille €3.6 million plus up to €2.6 million in bonuses. The Portuguese defender did not establish himself in Turin, spent time on loan at Porto, and was sold to Besiktas in 2025 for €3.5 million plus €1 million in bonuses.
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The same winter brought Carlos Alcaraz from Southampton. Juventus paid €3.7 million for the Argentine midfielder’s loan, with €1.9 million in bonuses and an option set at €49.5 million. He made only 12 appearances and was not signed permanently at the end of the campaign.
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The following summer began with the appointment of Thiago Motta as coach and a much busier market. Michele Di Gregorio arrived from Monza on a €4.5 million loan, tied to a €13.5 million obligation to buy and €2 million in possible bonuses. He was subsequently sent to Bournemouth by Carnevali and Massara on a €1.3 million loan, with a €12.7 million option and a potential €1.5 million in add-ons.
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Juan Cabal was another player Juventus secured ahead of Inter, joining from Hellas Verona for €11 million plus €2 million in bonuses. The Colombian remains contracted to Juventus, though he has been on the fringes of Luciano Spalletti’s group.
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Pierre Kalulu joined from Milan on loan for €3.3 million, with an option worth €14 million and another €3 million available in bonuses. His move was later made permanent under Damien Comolli, and he has become one of the regular pillars of Spalletti’s starting side.
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Vasilije Adžić represented a longer-term investment, arriving from Budućnost for around €7 million. The Montenegrin is now at Sassuolo on loan for €500,000, with a €12 million purchase option and a €13.7 million buy-back clause for Juventus. Less than a week before Giuntoli’s return, he scored against his parent club.
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Douglas Luiz was the major financial operation of that summer. Juventus’s deal for the Aston Villa midfielder was valued at €50 million, while Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior moved in the other direction, valued respectively at €8 million plus €3 million in bonuses and €14 million plus €3 million in bonuses. After a disappointing first campaign and subsequent loans at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, the Brazilian has begun to recover his standing under Spalletti.
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Teun Koopmeiners completed his move from Atalanta after an extended pursuit that lasted more than two months. Juventus agreed a €51.3 million fee, plus €6 million in bonuses, for the Dutch midfielder. He remains in the squad but has been a major disappointment.
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Khéphren Thuram came from Nice for €20 million and has proved one of the better pieces of business from the period. He has been a central figure across Juventus’s last two seasons, although he is currently unavailable while recovering from surgery for chondropathy in his right knee.
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Francisco Conceição initially arrived from Porto on a €7 million loan, with €3 million in bonuses. Comolli later completed a permanent transfer in the summer of 2025 for €30.4 million, and the Portuguese winger remains part of Spalletti’s squad.
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Nico González followed a long pursuit from Fiorentina, joining on an €8 million loan that included an obligation to buy for €25 million plus €5 million in add-ons. A difficult first year was followed by a revitalising loan spell at Atlético Madrid. Back in Turin this season, the Argentine has become one of the players driving Spalletti’s team forward.
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The January 2025 window opened with Alberto Costa’s arrival from Vitória Guimarães for €12.5 million plus €2.5 million in bonuses. He left only months later for Porto in a €15 million transfer with a further €1 million available in bonuses, as part of a deal through which João Mário joined Juventus for €11.4 million.
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Lloyd Kelly arrived from Newcastle United on a €3 million loan, carrying a €14.5 million obligation to buy and up to €6.5 million in bonuses. The English centre-back is still at Juventus and has been one of the side’s most dependable selections so far.
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Bremer’s serious injury also required another defensive response that January. Renato Veiga came from Chelsea on loan for €3.8 million plus €1.5 million in bonuses. The Portuguese defender returned to Chelsea at season’s end and later moved to Villarreal, where he now plays.
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Giuntoli’s final Juventus signing was Randal Kolo Muani, borrowed from Paris Saint-Germain for €1 million plus €2 million in bonuses. The French forward went back to PSG at the conclusion of the season and then spent time on loan at Tottenham. Carnevali and Massara brought him back to Turin last summer in a €38 million deal, with a further €12 million in possible bonuses.
Sunday’s meeting with Atalanta
Giuntoli’s work at Juventus cannot be reduced to one transfer window or one coach. His tenure covered the arrival of Motta, the later changes in the sporting structure, a Coppa Italia triumph and a substantial turnover of players. Some of his purchases have become important under Spalletti, including Kalulu, Thuram, Conceição, González and Kelly. Others have left, failed to settle, or remain symbols of investment that has yet to produce the expected return.
The Koopmeiners transfer gives Sunday’s fixture an additional thread. Giuntoli took the midfielder from Atalanta in one of the biggest deals of his Juventus spell; now he comes back as an Atalanta executive, looking across at a Juventus side still living with the consequences of that rebuilding project.
