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What Juventus fans can expect from Emre Can

What Juventus fans can expect from Emre Can

  • Steven Carson
German midfielder Emre Can has spent the best part of three years in the Premier League with Liverpool but that may be coming to an end. Sources close to the player indicate that there’s been an impasse in contract negotiations with the English giants and Can may be on the move in the 2018.

It now seems likely that Liverpool will take what they can from a deal in January or allow the German international to walk out of Anfield on the 1st of July, free to join whichever club he chooses in the six months prior to the end of his current deal – the latter being more likely and Juventus being an extremely likely destination.

Reds’ fans, who have watched Can develop into the player he is today, are split over his ability; some fans call him lazy and criticize his tendency to foul opposition players too often but others, myself included, see a modern midfield maestro and a player that has it all and a player that wears his heart on his sleeve.
  It’s easy to see that Emre made quite an impression early on (and, yes, I meant cojones).

Biography

Emre Can was competing for a place in Bayern Munich’s starting XI with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Luiz Gustavo and Javi Martinez when he was 19 but moved on to Bayer Leverkusen, seeking more regular first team football in the summer of 2013.
His performances for Leverkusen sparked interest from Liverpool – scoring four goals and registering four assists while being employed in a defensive role for the German club – and was signed for just under £10million in July of 2014.
Since then, he’s established himself as one of the most promising, rounded midfielders in the Premier League and is considered by many to be a key player in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side.
As of the 14th of December, Can has scored 12 goals in his 146 appearances for Liverpool (in all competitions) and has been used mainly in defensive roles and, more recently, as a box-to-box midfielder.

Playing Style

One of Can’s drawbacks is a tendency to pick up bookings and, as he’s the type of player to rise to the occasion, it can cause problems – he once sized-up Diego Costa for stamping on his ankle, something the infamous forward later served a three-match ban for.
  The German also has a habit of disappearing in games; he’s not the type of player you can reply on week in, week out like a Steven Gerrard or an Alessandro Del Piero – but that’s something that may change with time and, if surrounded by a talented midfield, mightn’t even matter all that much.
Unlike Xabi Alonso – a player renowned for his passing ability or Daniele De Rossi – renowned for his dynamism, Can is a jack-of-all-trades type of player which is exactly why he’s been used as a utility player by some of his previous managers.
While paying under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, the German spent most of his time filling in at centre-back or as a full-back – two positions he played well in but midfield is where he belongs.
When the mood strikes him, Can is able to thread a needle with his passing and can unlock defences but he doesn’t often get chances to show it as he’s usually deployed as a ‘number six’ but he doesn’t shy away from showing his range of passing.

Verdict

If pushed to pinpoint the German’s most discernible trait, most would almost certainly mention his ability to break up play with a crunching tackle; Can isn’t slow and can be like a Rottweiler if you’ve got his ball but this mind-set does feed his bad habit of picking up cards.
  To summarise, Emre Can is an explosive player who is best used as a defensive midfielder but isn’t a player his team can rely on to put in a match-winning performance every week – the German complements an attack-minded midfield very nicely and has a good eye for passing.

Where would he fit in at Juventus?

If Can does indeed move to Turin then Bianconeri fans should expect him to feature in most games and take over Sami Khedira’s position in the squad, it’d also likely spell out the end of Stefano Sturaro’s stint at Juve.

Khedira’s phasing out of the starting XI would likely be what we’re currently seeing with Gigi Buffon and Wojciech Szczęsny – a gradual process but with an inevitable culmination.

In terms of the role Can might play at Juventus, think Khedira; they’re very similar players with the only major difference being that Can, when playing at his best, is a larger presence on the pitch.