Tim Weah proving his worth, wherever Juventus play him

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By Graham Ruthven

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Tim Weah’s name carries a lot of weight in Italian football. His father, George Weah, was an AC Milan icon and one of the best to ever play in Serie A. When Tim joined Juventus in the summer of 2023, the Italian press couldn’t help themselves from comparing father and son, calling it “Una Storia di Famiglia” on the front page of one newspaper.

Those comparisons don’t do Tim any favours. To this day, his father is the only African player to have ever won the Ballon d’Or. George Weah is still spoken about as one of the greatest players to have worn the famous rossoneri. This, however, shouldn’t diminish Tim’s growing role in black and white.

Against his father’s former club last weekend, Weah made a profound impact, scoring in a 2-0 win for Juventus over AC Milan. His directness and speed in behind the opposition defence gave Juve an extra attacking dimension and was key to the Old Lady recording a potentially season-changing result.

Juve’s 2024/25 campaign has been a paradox. While Thiago Motta’s side are still unbeaten in Serie A, they are 13 points off the pace being set by Napoli at the top of the table. They have drawn an astonishing 13 of the 21 matches they have played this season as Motta has struggled to mould Juventus in his own image.

The 2-0 win over AC Milan was the culmination of a process many have questioned since Motta’s arrival in Turin last summer. Juve controlled the majority of the match. They stopped the Rossoneri from posing any sort of meaningful threat on the break, but were lacking dynamism in the final third until Weah’s introduction at half time.

Few believe Weah will ever be a central pillar of Motta’s team. Those roles belong to the likes of Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners and Gleison Bremer with Khéphren Thuram and Andrea Cambiasso also players who have clearly earned the trust of the manager. Weah ranks only 13th among his Juve teammates for minutes played in the league this season.

Nonetheless, Weah has proven his value as a do-everything attacking versatility man on more than one occasion this season. He’s played on the right wing, like he did in the second half against AC Milan. He’s also played on the left wing. The 24-year-old has even filled in as a centre forward when Dušan Vlahović missed a couple matches through injury.

When Weah arrived at the Allianz Stadium from Lille, he was widely seen as a wing back. That was the role many envisaged he would play for Max Allegri who favours a back three. Indeed, the majority of Weah’s 1,249 minutes in Serie A last season came as the fifth member of the Juventus defensive line.

Now, there is a sense that Weah has been liberated. Motta clearly sees the USA international as an outright attacker and has used Weah to keep Juve’s season moving forward when it easily could have veered off course. He might not be a central pillar of Motta’s team, but he is certainly a load-bearing one.

Of course, Weah isn’t the only American to have earned his place at Juventus this season. Weston McKennie is another US men’s national team member whose versatility has been tested with the 26-year-old – a midfielder by trade – deployed at right back in the recent win over AC Milan. This came after a run of games at left back. He has played over the pitch for the Old Lady.

McKennie, like Weah, has faced questions over his future as a Juventus player. The pair, however, have won over their doubters even if recent speculation has linked Everton with a January move for Weah. Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig are also believed to be interested in the winger who Juve could entertain offers for due to their fragile financial position.

This season will be remembered as a transitional one for Juventus. The Turin club have backed Motta to reshape the squad after years of stagnation under Allegri and have recognised that progress will be slow and painful. Money has been spent in the transfer window and further squad reconstruction will happen over the next few windows.

Weah might ultimately find himself a victim of that rebuild if Juventus receive a satisfactory offer for him, but the American has played an important role in the resurgence of one of Italy’s biggest clubs. There might well be more moments like the one delivered by Weah against AC Milan last weekend. He might not be his father, but Tim is making a name for himself in Turin.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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