UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. Building a brand new stadium that will double match day revenue. A number of players on contracts that makes selling them almost impossible.

Any discussion of the transfer dealings of Juventus, in both the January transfer window and last summer, that does not have these three important factors at it’s heart is barely worth reading. To judge the club and its management without first acknowledging these facts is nothing more than sensationalist fanta-Calcio.

While people have been quick to pass their expert opinion on the moves the club has and has not made, a run through the squad shows just how wrong many of these views are and begins to shed some light on the improvements made by Beppe Marotta since his arrival in May.

In goal Marco Storari was brought in as cover for the injured Gigi Buffon, relegating Alex Manninger to third choice. The former Milan and Sampdoria ‘keeper has been fantastic, and convincing him to stay when his departure looked likely is also good business. The club is quite easily the strongest in the league at this position.

Ahead of them in defence is a stark contrast. The fullbacks have been a clear weakness while the central defence has depth, balance and players who compliment each other extremely well. Leonardo Bonucci has settled very quickly alongside Giorgio Chiellini to form a formidable partnership for both Juventus and Italy, one which will stand both in good stead for years to come.

Losing a stalwart like Nicola Legrottaglie is never easy, but Andrea Barzagli is four years younger, has great experience and is in good form having started each of the first seventeen games of the Bundesliga season with Wolfsburg. His ability to come in and out of the team will need to be proven, as Legrottaglie did against Milan and there is also a possibility he could feature at right-back under the fluid system employed by coach Gigi Delneri.

That this is a serious consideration serves to highlight the issues at both full-back positions. The left has been simply a question of injury, Paolo De Ceglie was begining to look like the player he has always promised to become and Armand Traoré has shown in flashes he would make an adequate back up. On the other side Frederik Sørensen has become the best option which says much about the other right-backs currently available.

Marco Motta was a failed gamble, but one that only cost Juve €1.25m which is sadly less than some other players are earning thanks to the contracts granted to them by the previous administration. Zdenek Grygera has 18 months left on a deal paying him €1.6m per season, the same time Fabio Grosso’s €1.5m a year deal has left to run. Hasan Salihamidzic is only contracted until June but will have earned €2m this season before he leaves and having these deals has made all three impossible to move on.

In midfield the common misconception is the club lacks a left winger, and it is simply not true. The team is set up in such a manner that the fullback provides the width on that flank to balance Milos Krasic on the opposite side and giving the team a strong spine with Claudio Marchisio, Alberto Aquilani and Felipe Melo in central areas. Simone Pepe, Jorge Martinez and Momo Sissoko provide excellent alternatives for all three in a system that is often insultingly derided as being a ‘dour, dated and unconvincing 4-4-2’.

The attack has suffered the same issue as the fullback roles - injuries and ridiculous contracts. There is no doubting the quality of Fabio Quagliarella who suffered a horrific injury that has ruled him out for the rest of the season. His place will be covered by Alessandro Del Piero, a much more realistic proposition now Juventus are out of both cup competitions.

Alessandro Matri has arrived, bringing some hope and finally seeing the club moves on Amauri will lift the mood even more. Again it is his salary that have made moving him so difficult, €4.2m a year for a striker who’s only contribution to a team is goals yet who has not scored since February 2010. In contrast Matri is, despite being only 1.83m a very physical player, good in the air, a surprisingly intelligent passer and has the instinctive timing on his runs that all good strikers need.

He could partner any of Del Piero, Luca Toni or Vincenzo Iaquinta to good effect and the same can be said of Fabio Quagliarella. The Old Lady may not be signing star names right now but Beppe Marotta has basically done the ground work that Alessio Secco failed to do upon the clubs return to Serie A, for which he deserves credit and gratitude.