With the football season begun, and excitement buzzing can Juventus' deadline day transfers kick-start 
another fantastic season for the Zebra's? Juventus were remarkable in the 2014 2015 season, not only navigating their way to the top of the Serie A table for the fourth year running, but also managing victories in the Italian Cup and Super Cup, not to mention a runner-up finish in the UEFA Champions League. Add the fact that five Juventus players were shortlisted for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award-more than any other football club on the continent-and the Zebras should have been headed for a great season in 2015 2016.
Then again, Juventus might have been hit harder during the summer transfer window than just about any other soccer club in Europe. While the Zebras may have gotten five players on the shortlist for the Best Player in Europe Award, three of them were gone by the time the 2015 2016 Serie A campaign got underway on August 23rd (Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo, and Arturo Vidal). That put Juve in a bad place starting the new football season, and they kicked off with two straight losses (against Udinese and Roma, respectively) as a result.
Replacing the Stars
The good news is that Juventus have known that Tevez, Pirlo, and Vidal were on their way out for a while. Tevez had been vocal about his desire to return to his hometown club, Boca Juniors, for years, while Andrea Pirlo's contract was up at the end of last season, allowing him to head to New York City on a free transfer. As for Arturo Vidal, he still had two more years on his contract, but at least the Zebras were able to parlay his departure (to Bayern Munich) into a huge €37 million fee (plus €4 million in add-ons).
Still, even though two out of those three big departures could have been pretty safely predicted, that has hardly made it easier for Juventus to find replacements.
Tevez was the first star that Juve looked to replace. Back in early June, they announced the signing of Palermo's Paulo Dybala, for €32 million plus €8 million in add-ons. Dybala, a 21-year-old striker who hails from Argentina just like Tevez, has potential to be Juve's primary offensive weapon in a matter of a couple years. In his three seasons with Palermo, he made 94 appearances and scored 21 goals-including 13 in 2014 2015.
That's obviously not as high as what Tevez managed across all competitions last season (29 goals in 47 appearances), but it is an impressive tally for a 21-year-old kid. Add the fact that Dybala scored twice in his first three competitive matches at Juventus-first in a Supercoppa Italia match against Lazio, second in a Serie A fixture against Roma-and it's pretty likely that the young Argentine striker will turn out to be a good investment for Juventus. His goal against Roma was Juve's first in the 2015 2016 Serie A.
Also potentially meant to fill the Tevez void is striker Mario Mandzukic, who arrives from Atletico Madrid for €19 million plus €2 million in add-ons. Mandzukic should play the seasoned vet to Dybala's youthful presence: he's 29, has played at the senior level since 2005, and is still putting up solid scoring totals (e.g., 20 goals across 43 appearances in 2014 2015).
Deadline Day Fixes
Still, while Dybala and Mandzukic are both big offensive signings (as is €18 million forward Simone Zaza, coming in from Sassuolo), Juventus hadn't really replaced either Pirlo or Vidal-both players in the midfield-until deadline day.
Indeed, Juve had also spent big on Alex Sandro, a defender from Porto (€26 million) and bought a few other forwards for low prices (Guido Vadala and Juan Cuadrado), but the club's only moves in the midfield before deadline day had either been free transfers, bought out loans, or players returning from loans.
Juventus brought in not one, but two midfielders on deadline day to attempt to fill the void left by Pirlo and Vidal: Hernanes, who comes from Inter Milan on a €11+2 million transfer; and Mario Lemina, a loan from Marseille for €0.5+1 million. Of the two, Hernanes is most promising: a 30-year-old soccer veteran with 450 appearances and 87 goals under his belt in league association football play. But can he replace the dynamic Vidal? And will his presence in the midfield help to turn things around after Juve's tough season start?
Root for the Zebras (and hope that these new transfers make their mark) by picking up a brand new Juventus jersey 2015 2016 from Soccer Box!
