Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus: How will Juve line up with the former Real Madrid star in their side?

A front three of Dybala, Costa and Ronaldo would be a terrifying prospect for any defence to face

After Cristiano Ronaldo's big-money move to Juventus, the question Juve fans will soon want answered is exactly where the former Real Madrid star is expected to fit into the side – and perhaps how Gonzalo Higuain is not.

At his best the Argentinian forward is one of the top out-an-out No 9s in the world. He played an integral part in their winning Serie A campaign last season, scoring 16 league goals, and built a fruitful partnership with Paulo Dybala.

But as Ronaldo has grown older – he is now 33 – he has evolved from wide forward to central striker, a penalty-box poacher who is ruthlessly efficient, and it is hard to get away from the idea that he is simply an upgrade on Higuain.

Max Allegri deployed a back-four in almost every match last season, with various iterations such as 4-2-3-1, 4-3-2-1 and 4-3-3.

There are a couple of options here. There is the possibility Allegri will shift to playing two up front with a diamond midfield, pairing Ronaldo and Higuain together with Dybala behind them. But that would make it very difficult to squeeze in Douglas Costa, whose loan move from Bayern Munich was made permanent for £36m this summer.

Most likely is that Ronaldo will usurp Higuain's place in the side, playing is the central striker role in any of those three formations with the €90m Argentinian on the bench, or possibly heading out of the club in order to raise finds to cover Ronaldo's substantial transfer fee and wages.

A front three of Dybala, Costa and Ronaldo would be a terrifying prospect for any defence to face, and with the ever-reliable Mario Mandzukic in the squad, Juve already have a ready-made understudy should Ronaldo need a day off.

Any top side looking for a goalscoring metronome of a striker will now have their eyes firmly on Higuain.

Possible Juventus starting XI in 4-3-3: Szczesny; Cancelo, Benatia, Chiellini, Sandro; Can, Pjanic, Matuidi; Costa, Dybala, Ronaldo.