Loรฏs Openda‘s Goal Drought at Juventus Raises concerns for Club andโฃ Nationalโข Team
TURIN, Italy – Loรฏs โขOpenda’s lack โฃof goals in seven months with Juventus isโข prompting scrutiny from both the Italian club and the Belgian national team, despite evidence of significant “shadow work” and a growing tactical role under โคnew โขmanager Luciano Spalletti. The 23-year-old striker, who previously boasted a career record of 107 โขgoals in 314 matches, has struggled to find the net consistently as arriving in Piedmont.
Openda currently ranks sixth among playersโค born after 2000 in european goalscoring, trailing only Erling Haaland, Jonathan David, Juliรกn รlvarez, Vinicius Jรบnior,โข and Duลกan Vlahoviฤ. Though, his recent form represents a stark contrast to his previous prolific โoutput.
Initial difficulties were attributed to a late arrival at Juventus and a tactical system under former coach Igor Tudor that didn’t accommodate a conventional striker. Tudor favored a formation with twoโ attackingโ midfielders, leaving little room for Openda.
The arrival of Spalletti has shifted the dynamic, with the manager deploying two forwards.While Openda โขhasn’t โขyet scored under Spalletti, he contributed to Cambiaso’s opening goal with aโ deflected backheel โ- a play that went uncredited as an assist.
Despite the goalโข drought, reports fromโค Gazzetta dello sport suggest Openda’sโค value lies in his tireless work rate.โ “The Belgian does a โhuge amount of work behind the scenes, but he stillโฃ can’t โขget out of the way,” theโ publication noted.Theyโข further state that Openda has “finally found its place: discreet but essential” in Spalletti’s new system.
Analysts point to Openda’s effectiveness when playing alongside a strike partner,as evidenced by his ability to disorient defenses andโค create space for Vlahoviฤ while disrupting opponent’s recovery with constant โขpressing – aโ role he also โคfulfills with the Red โDevils.
Juventus invested โฌ3.3 million for the season-long loan of Openda, with a further โฌ40.6 million โคpurchase option contingent on the club finishing in the top ten of Serie A. The significant investment underscoresโข the need for increased goal production alongsideโฃ his evident contributions toโข the team’s overall play.
