A whirlwind few days have unfolded for former Bournemouth and Newcastle United defender Lloyd Kelly – a week that has transformed him into a fan-favorite at the club.
And this is not a regular club. This is Juventus, arguably the most renowned team in Italy and one of the top forces in European football.
First, Kelly scored his first goal for Juventus on Saturday, contributing to their 4-3 win over last season’s Champions League finalists Inter Milan in the famous Derby d’Italia.
The former England Under-21 central defender scored a last-minute equalizer in Tuesday’s astonishing 4-4 home draw against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
His goal against Dortmund marked the first instance of an English player scoring for the Italian club in the Champions League — and the second British player to achieve this feat, following Welshman Aaron Ramsey, who scored a header from a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick in 2019.
A 26-year-old player transformed from a villain to a hero during the match against Dortmund, after conceding a penalty when his team was down 4-2 with just four minutes of extra time remaining.
Nevertheless, the “Old Lady” made a comeback and netted two goals within two minutes to secure a draw, with Kelly’s goal coming in the 96th minute.
Four days prior to the match against Inter, Kelly scored the opening goal at Allianz Stadium — marking the first top-flight goal of his career — in his 22nd game for Juventus across all competitions.
It earned him the distinction of being the first English defender to find the net for the Turin-based team in Serie A.
Kelly, who signed with Juventus in February, failed to find the net in the Premier League while playing for Bournemouth or Newcastle, and his last goal came 18 months prior in a Cherries FA Cup match.
He has now scored in consecutive matches for the first time in his career — in one of Italy’s major games and a Champions League excitement-filled match.
Who is the Juventus hero Kelly?
The athlete, who was born in Bristol, initially joined Juventus on a loan agreement from Newcastle in February, later transitioning to a permanent contract in the summer for 17.5 million euros (£15 million) along with additional clauses.
Kelly began his professional journey with Bristol City’s youth system, and following eight years with the club, he moved to Bournemouth in 2019 for a fee of £13 million.
He led the Cherries and solidified his role as an essential player on the team, but he departed when his contract ended in 2024.
The central defender moved to Newcastle with former manager Eddie Howe through a free transfer, but was already leaving the club six months later following just 14 appearances.
The Serie A team welcomed his arrival by stating, “Kelly excels in terms of speed, his capacity to initiate play from the back, and his tactical awareness during matches,” and added that “he is a reliable defender in aerial challenges.”
However, Kelly—who essentially took over from Dean Huijsen, who became a sensation at his previous club Bournemouth—faced a challenging beginning in Turin.
Italian journalist Riccardo Trevisani called him a “benchwarmer” before he had even played a single match, and his Champions League debut with Juventus received a 5/10 rating from Gazzetta dello Sport, which described his performance as “bullying” and a “disaster.”
In May, journalist Mimmo Cugini from Gazzetta dello Sport stated that Kelly was “the worst signing in Juventus’ history” while discussing his inclusion in the team for the Serie A match against Bologna.
Nevertheless, Kelly has gained the trust of manager Igor Tudor, who assumed control in March, and is a key member of the starting lineup. He has shown Trevisani to be incorrect by featuring in 11 of his 12 Serie A appearances last season and all four matches during the 2025-26 campaign.
Following this week’s two vital goals in two intense matches, Kelly is expected to have secured a spot in the hearts of even the most difficult-to-please Juventus supporters.
Why did Kelly depart from Newcastle?
It’s quite revealing that Howe has only recruited one player for Newcastle United during his tenure at Bournemouth.
That individual, of course, was Kelly.
The defender encountered strong competition for playing time during his short stint at St James’ Park last season.
Kelly started his first game for Newcastle in the left-back position, but then saw Lewis Hall gain momentum with strong performances that resulted in the defender earning an England call-up.
Dan Burn, in the same way, secured the left center-back position that Kelly often favored a few months prior to the veteran being called up for the England team.
Only once did Kelly get the opportunity to play in a Premier League match in his favored position — when Burn was suspended — and in that game, the defender failed to mark his opponent, leading to West Ham United’s first goal in a 2-0 loss in November.
It marked Kelly’s last appearance in the top division for the club prior to his transfer to Juventus a few months later.
The departure of Kelly left Newcastle somewhat weakened, especially since there was no opportunity to sign a replacement during the mid-season transfer window due to the club’s financial and sustainability regulations (PSR) at that time.
However, generating reasonable fees by selling players is an area where Newcastle has traditionally faced challenges.
After years of unbalanced trading, they were almost caught in a financial crisis last summer, and the club barely managed to avoid a PSR violation after quickly selling Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton.
Therefore, there was a component of future-proofing by releasing Kelly shortly after he joined.
It enabled Newcastle to secure a significant gain, following Kelly’s arrival from Bournemouth on a free transfer, and helped the club enter the summer in a more stable financial state.
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A Champions League Match of the Day will be broadcast on Muara Digital TeamOne on Wednesday, between 22:40 and 00:00.
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