5 players Juventus should sign to reclaim the league title

For the first summer in a decade, Juventus supporters cannot (accurately) brag about being the best team in Italy.

Instead, they are being forced to watch Inter celebrate wildly - even if those festivities were cut short by news of Antonio Conte quitting, and the realisation of having to sell some of their top players to survive until next season.

Anyway, I Bianconeri face a possibly decade-defining summer. They've started strongly, reappointing Massimiliano Allegri after Andrea Pirlo's bumpy first (and only) season in charge left them lying fourth in Serie A, with only a Supercoppa and Coppa Italia to their name.

Not a bad campaign for most teams, when you think about it. But Juve are not 'most teams.' They are the team in Italy, and they must spend wisely over the next three months to make sure they return to being the team come next May.

But who should Juve sign to reinstate themselves at the top of Serie A?

1. Gianluigi Donnarumma

Allegri is a big fan of Wojciech Szczesny and wants to give the Polish shot-stopper another crack at the number one position, but never look a gift horse in the mouth - especially when that horse is called Gianluigi Donnarumma, and he's begging to join your club.

Donnarumma has even lowered his wage demands to less than what Milan had originally offered him to stay, as he is aware he could find himself without a home by the end of the Euros.

Juve would be crazy not to snap him up. He's young, boasts an incomparable amount of experience for someone his age, and other than the enormous fees being paid to agent Mino Raiola, would cost nothing.

Sign him up, and you've got your starting goalkeeper for the next 10 years.

2. Lucas Digne

The left-back position caused some problems last season, with Alex Sandro still performing below-par, and makeshift full-back Federico Bernardeschi not impressing.

So why not go for a man who has some Serie A experience, has impressed season after season in the Premier League, and is probably eyeing an exit now that Carlo Ancelotti has left Everton?

Lucas Digne is a top, top left-back, and he deserves to be competing in the upper echelons of European football. The Frenchman would slot perfectly into Juve's backline, and can also play at wing-back if needed.

A no-brainer, and one that the player himself would surely love to happen, too.

3. Manuel Locatelli

This boy has got all of Italy talking. Manuel Locatelli has blown Serie A away with his grace and quality since joining Sassuolo from Milan in 2018, and it's no surprise that he is now being linked with a return to a top-four club.

The 23-year-old has bossed the Neroverdi's midfield over the past three seasons, but now that coach Roberto De Zerbi has walked away, it feels like the end of an era in Emilia-Romagna.

Juve seriously lack that pace-setter in midfield, and have done since Miralem Pjanic fell away from his peak and eventually left the club. The Bosnian is rumoured to fancy a return, but he's not the answer to the big question.

Locatelli is the man needed to dictate the Bianconeri midfield from now on.

4. Rodrigo De Paul

Frankly, it's pretty ridiculous (and testament to his loyalty and cult hero status) that Rodrigo De Paul is still an Udinese player. The 27-year-old has grown into one of the most dangerous and entertaining attacking midfielders in the world over the past five years, and the time is right for him to move on from a plodding mid-table side.

The Argentine is a flexible, creative midfielder who can play either out wide, behind the striker or in a deeper role in the centre of the park, but wherever he positions himself, he can take hold of the game and dominate his opponents.

Udinese are holding out for around €40m, but should the player decide it's time for a new challenge, he may be able to bend them to his will. A useful, versatile option, and one who could improve the team in any role.

5. Tammy Abraham

Now for a bit of a crazy one. Juve are really struggling for strikers, although Alvaro Morata appears to be extending his stay for another season. Cristiano Ronaldo could be out of the door, but extra firepower is needed regardless.

So how about this one? Chelsea are asking for around £40m to sell Tammy Abraham this summer, and he could be a perfect fit for this Juve team. His style of play would suit Allegri's system, and he would bang home the goals for the Italian giants.

He may not be the most fashionable of names, but Abraham could be the key behind I Bianconeri's title fightback next season. You won't find a better striker on the market at such a price and age.