From the outset, Paratici’s second year at the club looks like a misfire as far as transfers are concerned. The striker then darts into the opposite penalty box to see his Manchester United team-mate’s cross sail just over his head at the far post. But far from playing second fiddle, Llorente was a crucial member of Conte’s squad as he netted 18 times in all competitions, playing his part with 45 appearances. Taking over with Antonio Conte in the dugout – the man who was set to join him at Spurs before talks collapsed – the Old Lady won their first title since 2003, and a big part of their success came down to two key midfielder additions from Paratici. All three of their major signings in Higuain, Pjanic and Alves played a key role and started as Juventus reached their second Champions League final in two years, juventus jersey 2020 but it would be heartbreak again for the Italians as they were crushed 4-1 by Real Madrid. The experienced Frenchman started off as the club’s first choice left-back before helping to usher in a new era. Juventus ended up making £89m profit on the Frenchman as he was shipped back to Old Trafford having emerged as one of the top midfielders in world football, and it remains a transfer masterstroke from Paratici.

The £100million 23-year-old Frenchman will have to be a central figure if they are to achieve that. They are the No 1 team in Manchester and the country – but also get to bounce off the fascination with all things Mourinho and United. But the statement signing in defence was Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt – who had just led a young Ajax team to the Champions League semi-finals, dumping Juve out in the process. These included first-team debuts for 17-year-old defender Paolo Gozzi and midfielder Grigoris Kastanos, who has spent this season playing in Serie C with the Juve under-23 team. But the team were sorely lacking a reliable goalscorer to maintain their title charge – with midfielder Vidal becoming their joint-highest goalscorer in the previous season alongside Vucinic. After losing some of the club’s most experienced heads in Pirlo, Tevez, Vidal and Llorente, the coach needed to fill the positions – most importantly providing competition to Morata.

The tough tackling Arturo Vidal was the second, forming a brilliant understanding with the Italian in centre of the park. With Pogba gone, in came Miralem Pjanic from Roma, with the Bosnian midfielder proving to be an instant hit – while Mario Lemina was another squad option in the middle of the park after signing permanently from Marseille. Three of them were totally forgettable as former Bayern defender Lucio made just one appearance in the league, while Niklas Bendtner’s temporary switch from Arsenal was a gamble that failed to pay off as he didn’t score once in 11 games. He was unproven at the time, but Juventus would go on to ensure it was one of the best deals in recent years as he quickly became indispensible at Juventus and contributed towards their second Serie A title win – playing 27 games in his first season and going on to make 178 appearances. Angelo Ogbonna – now at West Ham – also came in as defensive cover, playing 25 games as back-up to the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini. With Juventus’ squad now brimming with quality and depth, Paratici’s role was becoming much easier, now only needing to sprinkle it with talent rather than recruit an army of new acquisitions.

Sportsmail has taken a look through Paratici’s signings at Juventus and how they got on. Despite pulling off a deal as good as Pogba’s one, Paratici got more wrong than he got right. Despite the fact that a £5billion domestic TV deal kicks in next season, it seems English football’s appetite for every last penny has not been sated. The White Hart Lane outfit came so close to the Premier League title last season, only to fall just short as surprise package Leicester City took home the top-flight crown. New season, new manager – same success. His striker signings varied in success – Fabio Quagliarella joined for around £15m and scored nine times, while Mirko Vucinic, a £13.5m signing from Roma, struggled initially but went on to prove his worth with 10 goals to contribute towards their title charge. Spurs fans have taken aim at Daniel Levy over his inconsistent degree of success in the transfer market over the years, but a move for the Italian could appease his most ardent critics, with Paratici responsible for some impressive deals during more than a decade in Turin. But with Giovcino, Quagliarella and Vucinic all leaving the club, it was time to further add to the forward line – and it was time for another Paratici master stroke as he snapped up promising 18-year-old PSG star Kingsley Coman on a free transfer.