What Pierre Kalulu Can Provide to Juventus’ Defense
Cristian Zenoni, Christian Abbiati, Marco Storari, Andrea Pirolo, Alessandro Matri, Mattia De Sciglio, and Leonardo Bonucci. Those are the list of names that Pierre Kalulu has joined in making the move directly from AC Milan to Juventus this decade.
The respective outcomes of said moves were largely a mixed bag. Three of those aren’t really worth noting, Zenoni moved for €15 million but had only been at Milan for a month, Pirlo’s illustrious successes in Turin need no further explanation, and the less said about Bonucci‘s bizarre transfers between the two clubs the better.
Then there’s De Sciglio, who, as is also the case with Kalulu, made the €12m move as a 24-year-old defender with over 100 Milan appearances to his name. But, despite winning a Scudetto in each of his first three seasons, the Italian, who still remains at Juve (!), suffered terribly with injuries and has failed to make more league starts in a single campaign than he did at Milan.
As such, Kalulu will hope his spell at the Allianz Arena goes abit better than that of his new teammate De Sciglio, who, despite having only played a random first half against Lazio last season, still remains at Bianconeri. Granted, the signs do look brighter for Kalulu, for multiple reasons.
First off, the deal between the two Italian giants – an initial €3m loan with a reported €12m option to buy – is a great move for all parties. In addition to the on-field benefits Kalulu has provided Milan over the past few years, the loan fee itself sees the club double the €1.3m they spent to sign the defender from Lyon’s youth side in July 2020, and they may even get him back in the future.
Their competitors Juve will pay a reasonable fee for a proven Serie A and Champions League performer – he’s made 85 and 16 appearances in each competition respectively – with a year to test him out before they commit to a full investment. Meanwhile, this will provide Kalulu himself with sufficient incentive to impress, whilst also ensuring he will not be stuck at the Allianz Stadium should this coming season not go according to plan; something especially important given he’s coming off a season in which he missed an astounding 39 games through injury.
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Crucially, the Frenchman will also be arriving into a promising, exciting, and fresh setup under new Juve manager Thiago Motta, meaning he won’t have to compete to oust previously favoured players as may typically be the case when moving to a new side. As such, along with Bremer, Federico Gatti, Tiago Djaló, Danilo, and fellow new signing Juan Cabal, Kalulu has as good an opportunity as any of his defensive teammates to mark himself as a pivotal member of Juve’s back line.
Is Kalulu a good tactical fit for Juventus?
The Frenchman’s profile is in that awkward range between centre-back and right-back, which means he’s probably best suited a a wide-centre back in a three, or in an ‘elbow’ back four that forms a back three in possession, which would see him either tuck inside from right-back, or shift wider from right centre-back as the left-back tucks in.
He’s also very versatile, best shown throughout his pivotal role in Milan’s 2021/22 title winning season. In that campaign, Kalulu played the eighth most minutes in the squad, and contributed with three appearances at left-back, eight at right-back, and 15 at centre-back as The Rossoneri conceded the joint-fewest goals and kept the most clean sheets in the division.
Kalulu’s versatility will fit in well in Motta’s system, which provides defenders with remarkably fluid roles both on and off-the-ball, meaning they must be capable of covering multiple areas across the back line, and occasionally even in midfield (see new Arsenal signing Ricardo Calafiori).
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In Juve’s first two games against Como and Hellas Verona respectively, there have already been glimpses that the Italian head coach is implementing this style at his new side, with nominal RCB Gatti splitting very wide with Bremer in deeper build-up, before occasionally drifting central to receive the ball or create pockets of space elsewhere.
It’s worth noting that, for those not familiar with Gatti’s profile, this is not typically a proponent of his game – highlighting that this approach is predominantly based on Motta’s core principles, rather than a specific one tailored towards the players he has at his disposal.
As such, it’s likely that Kalulu will also be provided with such positional freedom, regardless of whether he be starting as a full-back or central defender (on paper at least). Only time will really tell how well suited the 24-year-old is to this structure, but his past performances suggests he’d likely be better occupying wider spaces in build-up and progressing from there, instead of receiving under pressure in central areas with his back to goal.
The angles this role would provide for Kalulu favour him much more. He’s a safe passer who’s secure in possession, but he can be susceptible to losing the ball with loose touches. and is much better at progressing play by rounding his man and carrying forwards, or by playing a clipped pass into the frontline or the channel in behind.
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The latter traits are much easier, and less risky, to do further away from goal as he’s being forced towards the touchline onto his stronger right-foot, whilst from this position he could even drive forwards and utilise his effective whipped crosses. Furthermore, a wider role would not only be beneficial for Kalulu, but his teammates too. Firstly, it would allow the likes of Manuel Locatelli and new signing Douglas Luiz to maximise their excellent passing range by dropping in between the centre-backs to distribute play, as Motta’s midfielders have frequently done in the opening two games.
It would also enable versatile talent Andrea Cambiaso to push forward into the right half-space or even take up the role of an auxiliary central midfielder to create central overloads. Or, if Motta were to turn to full-back Nicoló Savona on the outside of Kalulu, the Juve academy graduate would be freed to make surging runs forward to overlap or attack the box – something which saw him bag his first goal for the club on his Serie A debut against Como.
Kalulu’s off-the-ball strengths
Going back to how this move will benefit Kalulu himself, and it’s his out-of-possession abilities that will best thrive. The man-to-man pressing scheme Motta typically employs means his defenders’ main focus is solely on staying tight to their designated opposing attacker, whether that be by tracking their runs in behind, or more frequently stepping in front of them to intercept a pass.
Kalulu is great at this, attaining a knack for following his man to win possession high up the field, before continuing his momentum to drive forward with the ball at feet; a staple of a Motta defender. The stats (via Fbref) back this up too, as, in Milan’s 2021/22 title winning season, Kalulu, ranked in the top 15% of Serie A centre-backs for ball recoveries, tackles plus interceptions, and tackles in each third of the pitch, whilst also standing in the top 20% for progressive carries and carries into the final third.
Those traits weren’t limited to that season either, with those percentile ranks basically flipping the following campaign as Milan‘s possession slightly increased and their defence slightly regressed – demonstrating his ability to adapt to his sides’ needs and style of play. All of this exemplifies how Kalulu is consistently proactive and boasts excellent anticipation and reading of the game; mental traits which are particularly effective when paired with his impressive physical abilities like agility, speed, and strength.
However, it must be noted that, whilst Kalulu’s attributes do serve him well on the ground, his relatively small height for a centre-back, which stands him at 6 feet tall (1.82 metres), means that is not necessarily the case in the air. For instance, Kalulu’s 1.02 aerials won and 34.9% aerial win rate per 90 season put him amongst the bottom 6 and bottom 3 percent of positional peers for said statistics in the 2021/22 campaign.
At Juve, Kalulu’s potential partner Bremer (if and when he plays RCB) may mitigate against this weakness with his aerial proficiency – the dominant Brazilian ranked in the top 20% for the above statistics last season – however, the man-to-man responsibilities of each player could see it exacerbated if Kalulu is targeted by the opposition and left isolated in a one-versus-one aerial battle with a physical forward.
As such, it’s important Motta is able to tailor Kalulu’s role to minimise the occurrence of the above situations and maximise those where he’s able to defend on the ground – whether that be by playing their new signing wider as has been previously discussed, or by ensuring he’s not exposed as the final man for opponents goal kicks, for example.
To really emphasise just how effective Kalulu can be if Motta is able to do the above, his ground duel statistics in that same 2021/22 season paint the perfect picture. Of all Serie A defenders with 20 plus appearances, The former Lyon academy graduate held the third highest win percentage on ground duels per 90 minutes (70.87%), only ranking below defensive partner Fikayo Tomori (76.03) and Roma’s Chris Smalling (75.34%) – both of whom won fewer ground duels p90 than Kalulu’s 3.7 as per Sofascore.
Is Kalulu a good signing?
All in all then, albeit with some slight concerns relating to aerial ability and injury history, Kalulu is a very adept defender both in and out-of-possession, is capable of effectively filling a variety of roles across a back line, and is still young yet experienced at the top level of Italian and continental football.
At the base level alone, that makes him a very astute pickup from Juve sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli this summer. But, add to that the reinvigoration Motta is conducting at the Bianconeri, and especially the former midfielder’s remarkable record at Bologna of getting players to reach career-high levels of performance, and there’s enough reason to believe Kalulu could make his mark as one of Serie A’s best defenders as Juve look to rediscover their dominance in the years to come.
By: Travis Levison / @TravisLevison67
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Claudio Villa / AC Milan