Lloyd Kelly has officially made his debut for Juventus after leaving Newcastle United.
It was a reluctant decision from Eddie Howe to let Lloyd Kelly leave Newcastle United considering he had only signed for the Magpies just six months prior.
However, Kelly wanted the Juventus move and got his wish before the January transfer window closed. Newcastle are lacking in depth at the back as a result but must soldier on in the circumstances.
Italian media believe Kelly will be a ‘bench’ player for Juventus. They have the chance to make his loan move permanent in the summer, a deal which could bag Newcastle an extra £17m – a huge opportunity to get the jump on next season’s PSR deadline.
While there is concern about the number of bodies for the rest of the season, Newcastle players are unfazed by the squad depth and still believe they can win silverware this campaign.
With Kelly’s debut now in the books, Italian media have given Kelly an honest assessment of his performance.
Italian media react to Lloyd Kelly’s Juventus debut
Kelly will still have the feeling of a Newcastle player whenever Juventus don their black and white home shirt. This time, Kelly made his debut away to Como. The 26-year-old came on at half time for Nicolo Savona and played the game at left-back.
The Englishman helped the Old Lady come back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win against Como. However, Italian news outlet Calciomercato were less than impressed with Kelly when doing their post-match ratings.
They gave Kelly a 5/10 and said: “Rather timid impact and clearly poor execution. (No, he didn’t give confidence).”
In his 45 minutes on the pitch, Kelly had 24 touches, two touches into the opposition box, completed eight passes (57%), had one blocked shot, made one clearance and won three of his five duels.
While Kelly’s Juventus debut may not have been memorable, Newcastle fans will hope he can impress towards the end of the season so the Serie A side sign him on a permanent deal in the summer.
While Juventus have an obligation to buy Kelly at the end of the season and they are ‘highly likely’ to make his loan move permanent, there is still a chance he could return to Newcastle.
Elsewhere, CBS reporter Matteo Bonetti said that Kelly was being ‘terrorised’ by Como winger Gabi Strefezza throughout the second half.
What Juventus think of Lloyd Kelly after joining from Newcastle
Juventus were adamant they were going to sign Kelly despite Newcastle’s initial rejected approaches. Eventually, they got their man for a hefty fee.
Newcastle are believed to have bagged around £3m from the initial loan deal which will be added to the £8m from Miguel Almiron’s Newcastle exit.
The Serie A side Juventus signed Kelly for his ‘dynamism’ and praised him for his speed and agility in a press release announcing his signing.
Kelly was not a regular starter for Newcastle which was the reason why he wanted to leave in the first place – he will be hoping that it is a different story at Juventus. In comparison, Juventus fans will be hoping that his performance was only a small bump in the road, and he will hit the ground running sooner rather than later.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
