Ex-Newcastle Player Dubbed ‘The Most Disastrous Signing in Juventus History’

Former Premier League defender Lloyd Kelly has been slammed by the Italian media in brutal criticism of the English star since his move to Juventus from Newcastle in the January transfer window. Kelly was a hot property last summer as his contract at Bournemouth expired, allowing him to complete a free move to St James’ Park.

Despite the defensive injuries that have impacted Eddie Howe’s side, Kelly made just 14 appearances with an average of just 42 minutes per game. He was sent on loan to Turin at the start of the new year, in a deal that sees Juventus hold an obligation to buy the 26-year-old permanently when the window reopens. However, the move has been labelled as a costly mistake, with one journalist not holding back with his thoughts.

Newcastle Star Given 5/10 Rating for ‘Awkward’ Wimbledon Display

The rescheduled cup fixture saw Eddie Howe make several changes to his side.

Kelly Labelled as Disastrous by Italian Pundit

The pundit claimed a recent injury to the defender is not a blow for Juventus

Since making the move to Juventus, Kelly has featured in 10 Serie A games, starting in 75% of them. He has also made a further three appearances in the Champions League and Italian Cup, but has recently been sidelined with a hamstring injury, which forced the ex-England Under-21 international to miss the 1-1 draw with Bologna.

With Juventus dealing with several absences, including Dusan Vlahovic and Gleison Bremer, one would imagine Kelly’s knock would be another bitter blow for manager Igor Tudor to deal with. However, pundit and writer Mimmo Cugini argued the opposite.

Speaking on SportItalia, as per Football Italia, the Gazzetta dello Sport journalist claimed that Tudor would not miss the centre-half one bit before laying into his performances since he arrived at the Allianz Stadium:

“Considering what they paid for him, I think he is the most disastrous signing in the history of Juventus. He is frankly embarrassing. I’ve seen him do things that we humans have never seen on a football field. Kelly is not reliable. The goal he allowed against Parma, at this level, was embarrassing.”

Despite Cugini criticism, Juventus will have no choice but to pay the fee to sign him at the end of his loan deal, which is said to be in the region of £21 million. This will make the defender the first permanent player on Juventus’ books since youngster Samuel Iling-Junior, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough having been signed by Aston Villa.