The Italian football media has treated the double signing as a cautionary tale. David, 26, arrived from Lille on a free transfer but with a signing-on fee of €12.5million — a figure classified as an accessory cost that cannot be amortised and sits as dead expenditure on Juventus's books regardless of output. He has managed six Serie A goals and eight across all competitions.
Openda, 26, formerly of RB Leipzig, joined on a loan deal of €3.3million with a €40.6million purchase obligation that has since been triggered by Juventus qualifying for a top-half finish. His tally stands at one Serie A goal and two in total — a return that bears no relationship to the investment made. He earns €7.4million gross annually and is contracted until 2030, making any exit considerably more complex than his arrival.
The financial damage points in different directions for each player. David, having arrived on a free, produces only accounting gains on any sale — Juventus can exit the relationship without a loss on the transfer fee. Openda is the opposite problem: selling him at a price that avoids a capital loss would require a fee the market is unlikely to support after this season, making a loan with an option the most realistic route out.
The broader consequence is that Juventus are now actively reconsidering a renewal for Serbian striker Dušan Vlahović, whose contract expires at the end of June. Having spent significant resources on two forwards who failed to deliver, the prospect of retaining Vlahović at a reduced wage — around €6-7million net per season, down from his current €12million — looks more logical than finding fresh investment elsewhere. The negotiations remain open and difficult, with agent commission and a signing-on fee still unresolved.
Vlahović could still leave for nothing. But a summer that began with David and Openda as the answers to Juventus's attacking question has ended with the club uncertain whether they ever found the right question.