How Juventus could line up with James Rodriguez, Ramsey and Ronaldo combining forces in Serie A
SERIE A giants are yet to confirm they belong to the European elite, and hope midfield reinforcements will help them bring the Champions League glory back to Turin
JUVENTUS could offer Real Madrid flop James Rodriguez an escape route, creating a lethal midfield partnership with Arsenal ace Aaron Ramsey.
The Colombian is not in Zinedine Zidane's plans and will be looking for a new club this summer once his loan deal with Bayern Munich has expired.
Rodriguez, 27 hoped earning Spanish citizenship would help him regain his place in Madrid, but Zidane has seemingly given up on the midfielder.
Chelsea's Eden Hazard is reportedly on his way to Madrid, meaning there will be no space for the Colombian in the Los Blancos squad.
And Juve are understood to be interested in his services, as Massimiliano Allegri is planning a major overhaul of his midfield.
Check out how Juventus could line-up next season below...
GOALKEEPER
Wojciech Szczesny
AS surprising as it might be, Szczesny is Juve's No1 and it doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
Tipped by Gianluigi Buffon as his heir, the Pole has been in an impressive form this season.
And to confirm that, he pulled off an incredible save to deny Antoine Griezmann a goal in the first leg of Juve's Champions League tie against Atletico last month.
DEFENCE
Daniele Rugani, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci
NOT much to change there either.
Perhaps the rock-solid Chiellini-Bonucci duo is not inseparable, as the latter briefly left for Milan in 2017 before returning to Turin ahead of the current season.
But they will still be leading Juve's back line in the next campaign - alongside the much younger Rugani.
Allegri has recently called him "one of the best defenders in Europe".
And, having broken into the starting line-up in the middle of the season, he is now certain to become the Italian's coach regular in the 3-5-2 formation.
MIDFIELD
Joao Cancelo, Ivan Rakitic, Aaron Ramsey, James Rodriguez, Alex Sandro
THAT'S where the revolution starts.
Juve have already snapped up Ramsey, 28 - a midfield powerhouse who can support his team on both ends of the pitch.
But Allegri seems to think that might not be enough if the Turin club are to bring the Champions League glory back to Italy.
Rodriguez can both create chances and finish them off in spectacular fashion, as he showed in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Despite having ups and downs this season in Munich, he has scored seven goals and assisted four in the Bundesliga - a decent result considering he has featured in 18 games.
Meanwhile, with Miralem Pjanic on Real Madrid's radar, the versatile and experienced Rakitic could fill the Bosnian's shoes as he is being replaced at Barcelona with Frenkie de Jong.
With two dynamic full-backs, Ramsey and Rakitic sharing defensive responsibility and Rodriguez operating behind Juve's goal-machines, this midfield could become a lethal, Champions League-worthy force.
FORWARDS
Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala
MR Champions League needs no introduction.
Ronaldo, 34, perhaps does not put up numbers similar to when he played at the Bernabeu anymore, but he has given Juventus the edge in crunch games such as the Champions League tie against Atletico.
Dybala is yet to find his role alongside the great Portuguese, as he has so far netted only five times - a significant downgrade from 22 goals last season.
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But he has quite a somebody to look up to.
The Argentine has proved how a great goal-scorer he is and, once his partnership with Ronaldo is fully-fledged, he could be unstoppable next to the former Real Madrid star.
But Dybala is also no stranger to creating chances for his team-mates and could thrive sharing the pitch with the likes of Rodriguez and Ramsey.
If that becomes reality next season, fans in Turin should get very excited.