Juventus Eye Emiliano Martinez but Consider David De Gea as Backup
Juventus are drawing up a contingency plan in goal – and it has a very familiar name at the top.
With Emiliano Martinez identified as the priority target for the summer, the Turin hierarchy know there is no certainty they will prise him away. According to reports in Italy, if that move stalls, the Bianconeri are ready to turn to Fiorentina’s David De Gea as an alternative.
It is a move that says as much about Juventus’ present anxiety as it does about their long-term vision.
De Gea, the veteran still delivering
De Gea arrived in Florence after a spell in limbo as a free agent, his Manchester United chapter closed, his future unclear. Two seasons on, he has rebuilt his reputation in Serie A.
Last season he produced 10 clean sheets in 37 league appearances, following 11 shut-outs in his debut campaign. The numbers are not the towering peaks of his prime in England, but they are solid, reliable, and backed by the underlying data: a goals-prevented figure of +1.06, up from 0.59 the year before.
At 35, he is not just surviving at this level. He is still contributing. Fiorentina leaned heavily on him in a difficult year, his saves and presence central to steering the club away from the relegation fight after they had drifted dangerously close.
That is exactly the kind of experience Juventus believe could serve them well. With Michel Di Gregorio in place and expected to start, the club want a goalkeeper who can compete with him, push him, and satisfy Luciano Spalletti’s demands for personality and leadership in the dressing room. De Gea, with his years at the top and his stature in the game, fits that brief.
The old temptation in Turin
Yet the interest carries a familiar warning sign.
Juventus have spent much of the past decade flirting with short-term fixes, especially when it comes to big-name veterans. It has brought moments of quality and flashes of nostalgia, but it has also left a squad that too often feels patched together rather than built.
De Gea would bring calm and know-how. He would not, however, move the project forward in any meaningful way. He would be another stopgap.
The argument inside and outside the club is clear: this should be the moment to invest in a younger goalkeeper. Someone ambitious, hungry, and ready to grow alongside Di Gregorio. Someone who can challenge for the No. 1 shirt now and realistically hold it for years to come.
Europe’s market is rich with that profile – keepers with the tools to become elite if given the right platform. Yet Juventus keep circling back to players approaching the twilight of their careers, drawn by the security of what they already know.
That pattern has consequences. It narrows the margin for error, erodes resale value, and leaves coaches working with a squad whose peak has often already passed.
A choice that defines the project
None of this is an indictment of De Gea. On the contrary, his resurgence in Florence underlines his professionalism and enduring quality. He has shown he can still perform at a high level, still command a penalty area, still decide matches.
The question is not whether he could “do a job” in Turin. He clearly could.
The question is what kind of club Juventus want to be in the next cycle: one that keeps reaching for the comfort of experience, or one that commits to building a core capable of dominating Serie A and competing deep into European campaigns again.
Chasing Martinez suggests ambition. Falling back on De Gea would reveal something else: that the Old Lady is still torn between the lure of yesterday’s guarantees and the harder, braver route of tomorrow’s solutions.
