Luciano Spalletti's message after Juventus' pre-season tests was blunt enough. The squad looks stronger on paper, but he does not see a finished team yet. Juventus lost 2-1 to Inter in Perth, and the coach said Inter were "more of a team" than his side in the first half.

Inter, Chelsea and the shape of the squad

Spalletti used both the Inter game and the earlier meeting with Chelsea as reference points. "These are the sorts of games that help you understand a lot about the mentality of the team and whether or not we're working in the right direction," he said to football-italia.net. He added that Juventus will need to be compact because Inter can find advantages if space opens up.

The wider picture is still plain. Juventus finished 6th in Serie A, have played 5 recent summer fixtures, and named a 31-player travelling squad for their Asia and Oceania tour. Spalletti's own line on the rebuild was simple: the team is stronger on paper after the new arrivals, but still needs balance.

That is the more useful takeaway than any hype around individual names. He also said the club are not chasing a side built around one 20-goal striker, because the emphasis is on collective output and getting the group to work as one.

Yildiz's minutes are being managed carefully

Kenan Yıldız remains part of the story, but Spalletti is clearly handling him with care. He said the 20-year-old is "a very important player" and that Juventus are limiting his minutes as part of a planned process. Spalletti added that Yildiz no longer feels pain and is smiling, which at least suggests the recovery is moving in the right direction.

Yildiz came off the bench against Chelsea and set up Edon Zhegrova's goal, but the bigger point is the same one Spalletti keeps returning to: this is a squad still being assembled into a proper unit. Juventus have quality. They do not yet have the automatic cohesion to match it, and the 2-1 defeat to Inter was the latest reminder.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →