Lloyd Kelly joined Juventus from Newcastle United on deadline day of the winter transfer window.
He came off the bench against Como at the weekend and yesterday he started Juve’s Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven.
It didn’t go well for the defender, who is moving from Newcastle United to Juventus permanently in the summer, despite the fact that the Bianconeri picked up a 2-1 win due to goals from Weston McKennie and Samuel Mbangula.
Despite it being Kelly’s first ever Champions League game, the Italian press has not reacted kindly to his performance, as the Englishman was at fault for Ivan Perisic’s goal in the second half.
Tuttomercatoweb have relayed Kelly’s ratings from major Italian papers today.
Gazzetta dello Sport have given the centre-back a rating of 5 and they write: ‘Champions League debut and first as a starter with the new horror shirt: ‘bullied’ by Perisic, he lets him cross too easily and remains immobile on the goal.’
Corriere dello Sport also give Kelly a rating of 5 and believe that the player made a ‘serious’ error during the Perisic goal.
‘He is also making his debut in the Champions League. He remains more reserved for the 3-man build-up, but makes the serious mistake of turning on Perisic’s feint that costs the equaliser.’
TuttoSport are not too kind either and they write, while handing the 26-year-old a rating of only 4.5: ‘On his debut as a starter after the 45′ in Como and on his absolute debut in the Champions League, he struggles to find his measure.’
The Italian press isn’t impressed with how Kelly performed. Having said that, it was the player’s first full game at a new club and in a new country. In addition, he wasn’t a regular for Newcastle United in the first half of the season.
It’s normal for players to take time to get adjusted to new surroundings. Kelly has never played in European competitions before and with time, he could improve as a player.
Douglas Luiz was hammered by the media around Juventus when he arrived in the summer, and perhaps too much immediate magic is expected from Premier League signings.
