Progress Report on 5 On-Loan Juventus Youngsters
With their palatial stadium and sponsorship deals with the likes of Samsung and Adidas, Juventus are the financial titans of the Italian game.
Of course, given the financial state of Italy and her soccer establishment at the moment, that isn't saying much. Italian clubs can't pay the transfer fees—and more importantly the wages—that teams from other countries can. With other leagues able to splash the cash, the top talent that used to play in Serie A has moved on to England, Spain and Germany.
An example came this summer: On Sunday, Juve director Giuseppe Marotta told RAI television show La Domenica Sportiva (h/t Football Italia) that his team was "very close" to landing Radamel Falcao on loan from Monaco. The Colombian apparently was of a mind to move to Juve but moved to Manchester United after the English club's spending hijacked the deal.
Because of the money crunch, Italian teams on all levels need to rely on young players to build themselves—and Italian soccer—back up.
Juve have done well both developing academy talent and in buying promising young talent from other clubs. They have a host of players who are developing on loans or co-ownerships.
Today, we'll take a look at the five youngsters with the most promise. These five may be the future of the black-and-white stripes within the next few years.
Nicola Leali
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Nicola Leali is going to have big shoes to fill when he finally breaks into Juve's first team.
The 21-year-old from Lombardy was acquired three summers ago after breaking onto the scene with second-tier Brescia and was immediately tipped as the potential goalkeeping heir to club captain Gianluigi Buffon.
Leali made his professional debut late in the 2010-11 Serie A campaign after Brescia had already been assured of the drop. Many were surprised when the Bianconeri loaned him out to a Serie B team for a second consecutive season a year ago, but Leali developed well at Spezia and made the jump to the top flight this year with newly promoted Cesena.
He has been impressive for the Seahorses thus far. Cesena is only above the drop zone on goal difference right now, but their 13 goals allowed is the least of the three promoted clubs and less than four teams that played in the top flight a year ago.
That figure is also lower than promising loanees like Mattia Perin or Francesco Bardi in seasons past. Granted, Cesena's defense has given Leali more cover than either of those two ever had at this point in the season, but the numbers do point that Leali is indeed on their level as a prospect, despite lagging behind them in terms of his timeline.
Part of a promising young crop of keepers that includes Perin, Bardi and Simone Scuffet, Leali's development proceeds apace. Time will tell if he will truly be Buffon's heir, but the signs are pointing up.
His arrival with the first team will depend mostly on Buffon's own playing career. Buffon's current contract runs through 2015, and if he decides to call time then Leali would almost certainly be back with his parent club. If he extends again, Leali will either be on loan again or play behind Buffon and learn from him as his backup for a year or two. Until that situation becomes clearer, Leali's future will be somewhat clouded.
Daniele Rugani
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With Andrea Barzagli aging, Juve fans are likely breathing a sigh of relief seeing Daniele Rugani impressing at Empoli.
Rugani spent years in Empoli's youth system before coming to Juve's last year and impressing as a starter in the Primavera. Loaned back to his boyhood club's senior team this year, he has been a rock on defense for a team that has surprisingly garnered points in five of its first eight games.
At 20 years old, Rugani is still young and needs to grow into his own body before he can develop as a tackler. In the air, however, he's already king. WhoScored.com clocks him at 3.6 aerial duels won per match. It's that kind of ability that will make him a force both on the defensive end and in the opponent's box on set pieces.
Also of note is Rugani's passing ability: He's been successful on 94.1 percent of his passes this season, completing 346 and only missing the mark with 15.
The Bianconeri already have one of the best ball-playing center-backs in the world in Leonardo Bonucci, but if Rugani can grow into his physicality and improve his tackling, he could combine those skills with his aerial ability and turn into one of the best defenders in the game.
If he keeps playing like this he could be back in Turin and learning from the likes of Giorgio Chiellini as early as next year.
Domenico Berardi
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Ever since Domenico Berardi announced himself to the world by scoring 16 times in only his second professional season—and his first in the top flight—the question on the minds of many Juve fans has been when he will arrive in Turin.
With co-ownerships outlawed starting next season, there's almost no chance that Juve will allow the talented 20-year-old to slip through their fingers. They'll be getting him at a comparative bargain, too. WhoScored reported this summer that a €14 million figure has already been agreed upon to make him a full Bianconero.
This season we've seen the ups and the downs in Berardi's game. He has had two sterling assists thus far and scored a brace in a 3-2 loss to Lazio in early October. He's also seen a straight red for elbowing Inter's Juan Jesus.
Berardi certainly needs to mature, but that comes with age. His abilities as a winger will be important to Juventus in the future as they look to diversify their tactical arsenal. La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Forza Italian Football) reported in June that Antonio Conte wanted Berardi on the team before he resigned.
The club may decide to loan him out for another year, but he may be their most valuable piece going forward and they can't afford to lose him on the co-ownership resolution. He's going to come to Turin over the summer. Whether he slots straight into the team or gets farmed out for one more year is yet to be seen.
Richmond Boakye
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A more under-the-radar prospect, Richmond Boakye already has seven international caps (and two goals) at only 21 years old.
A product of Genoa's youth system, his performance on loan at Sassuolo caught Juve's eye, and they purchased him from the Grifone in a co-ownership swap with Ciro Immobile going the other way. Another year at Sassuolo saw him help the Neroverdi to their first-ever promotion to Serie A.
He spent last year abroad in La Liga, scoring six times for bottom-half side Elche. He was brought back to the peninsula this season at Atalanta and has already scored twice for La Dea.
The second of those goals exemplified Boakye's poacher's game. With a little more than a minute left in regulation, Luca Cigarini fired off a long shot. Antonio Mirante parried it easily and dove to cover the rebound but somehow managed to let it slip through his fingers and into the path of the onrushing Boakye, who was smartly following Cigarini's drive.
With longtime attacking talisman German Denis misfiring, Boakye may have a chance to win himself some starter's minutes. If he can impress there, Juve will have to consider his future.
What remains to be seen is how his game fits Juve. If the tactics in Turin are able to evolve, he could have a place in the side. But the struggles endured this season by Fernando Llorente—whose style is analogous to the Ghanaian—may be a sign that if Juve continue to use a striking pair, Boakye's value might be as a transfer piece.
Manolo Gabbiadini
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Manolo Gabbiadini has been one of the engines behind the surprising start of Sampdoria. The Blucerchiati are sitting in fourth and are the only team other than Juventus to remain unbeaten.
Gabbiadini has always been blessed with pace and a cannon for a left foot. This season, he has added set-piece specialist to his resume, scoring on some cannon kicks.
The 22-year-old has played as a winger ever since Sinisa Mihajlovic arrived in Genoa, and the role seems to suit him. Those skills on the wing could be invaluable to Juve if they look to transition to a four-man defensive system in the near future.
However, his future with his parent club is uncertain. There have been signs that Gabbiadini is dissatisfied with Juve's seeming lack of interest in having him in the squad, and on Sunday he told the newspaper Il Messaggero (h/t Football Italia) that he would "like an experience in Spain or England."
The paper went on to suggest he could team up with fellow Italian Alessio Cerci at Atletico Madrid or move to the Premier League with Arsenal or Tottenham.
Juve fans should hope that there is a chance to repair the relationship and retain him in the summer. Gabbiadini is likely the most developed of Juve's prospects and could be a huge help for them going forward, either off the wing or as a central striker, where he played before the arrival of Mihajlovic.
He would be a great help to Juventus next season, but there is a danger that his co-ownership resolution will go the way of Ciro Immoblie's.
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