Juventus have released their squad for the Champions League knockout stages, but the list doesn’t include Alberto Costa.
The Bianconeri finished the group stage in a disappointing 20th place, but it was enough to secure a place in the play-off round, albeit as an unseeded team. Hence, the Italians will play the first contest at home against PSV Eindhoven on February 11th before flying to the Netherlands for the second round the following week.
On Thursday, all participants must submit their squad lists, and Juventus have already done their homework.
As expected, Thiago Motta didn’t include the club’s first January signing, as Costa has been left out. According to UEFA’s regulations, a club can only register three new players in mid-season, so the Bianconeri were forced to omit one of their four winter arrivals.
Excluding Randal Kolo Muani was never an option considering his status and immediate impact, while Renato Veiga and Lloyd are also needed on the list to avoid a shortage in the centre-back department. Hence, Costa was the unfortunate party in the equation. The 21-year-old right-back has yet to make his debut since joining in mid-January.
On the other hand, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal have been included despite their ACL woes. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t be considered a sign of a near recovery. Juventus simply added the injured duo to the list because they had several vacant spots on their List A.
So here is the full Juventus Champions League squad (List A and List B) for the knockout stages as published on the club’s official website.