Lois Openda is not expected to be part of Luciano Spalletti’s project at Juventus heading into the 2026-27 season, but due to a shortage at centre-forward, the Bianconeri have been left temporarily unable to shift the Belgian despite a willing set of bidders in Ligue 1.
Juventus striker shortage leaves Openda in limbo
The centre-forward situation has been a topic of hot discussion in Bianconeri circles during the off-season: Dusan Vlahovic has now left the club following the expiry of his contract on June 30, which leaves Openda, Jonathan David, Arkadiusz Milik and new recruit Jeff Ekhator as the club’s only senior striking options.
Neither Milik nor Openda are expected to be central to Spalletti’s plans in 2026-27.
According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, there has been interest in Openda, despite his underwhelming start to life in Serie A during the 2025-26 campaign.
Monaco, Rennes and Coventry City have been mentioned as potential destinations, but Lyon and Lens are currently looking like the most likely options for Openda this summer according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
An exit is likely to consist of a loan with an option to buy rather than a permanent sale, which will still help Juventus clear a decent chunk off their wage bill for the 2026-27 season.
However, the issue for Juventus is that the unwanted pair of Milik and Openda are the club’s only senior options available at centre-forward heading into a pre-season friendly against Standard Liege coming up this weekend on Saturday (July 25). That is because Ekhator has suffered an injury in Juventus’ first summer friendly last weekend and David is still on holiday following his involvement at the 2026 World Cup.
So, despite the fact that there are willing bidders for Openda, and despite the fact that Juventus are keen to shift the striker from their books, the club are temporarily unable to sanction his departure and are unlikely to do so for the next week at least according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Source: Football Italia
