Why Juventus Should Sign Bologna's Antonio Mirante This Summer

Having won both the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia for the second consecutive season, Juventus appear to have made a conscious decision to target UEFA Champions League success next season and improve their performances on the continent.

Being paired against Bayern Munich in the last 16 made that task incredibly difficult this term, but coach Massimiliano Allegri appears determined to not let that setback affect the focus of his team next year.

“We must raise our expectations, bringing them up to where nobody thinks we can go,” the former AC Milan boss said in an interview with Sky (h/t Football Italia), and various reports show that Juventus are taking steps to help achieve that aim.

According to AS, Cadena SER, Sky Sport Italia and a number of other outlets (h/t Football Italia), Barcelona’s Dani Alves will sign a two-year contract with the Bianconeri, while Spanish newspaper Sport (h/t Eurosport) believe his team-mate Javier Mascherano could be set follow him to Turin.

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Yet closer to home, a link to a far less recognisable name highlights the seriousness of Juve’s attention to detail, as a move for goalkeeper Antonio Mirante is being touted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

There are a number of reasons why the Bologna man is an ideal target, with his status as a product of the Bianconeri youth sector ranking high among them. Of the current playing squad, only Claudio Marchisio has made the leap to the first team and adding Mirante would bring Juve closer to meeting Champions League quota requirements.

As the rules laid out on the official UEFA website explain, he would be classed as a club-trained player after spending more than three years at Juventus between the ages of 15 and 21, with each team permitted to name four such players each season.

A lack of homegrown talent saw the Bianconeri announce a squad of just 23 rather than the maximum of 25 players in 2015/16, per their official website, and Mirante would clearly help give Allegri more options in this regard.

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His arrival would also allow Neto to leave on loan in search of more regular playing time, with La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia) reporting the Brazilian goalkeeper wants to do just that after making only eight appearances since leaving Fiorentina last summer.

Yet the most important fact is that Mirante, after a string of impressive campaigns, could actually help Juventus on the field should he be called upon to do so. During the early years of his career, the 32-year-old spent indifferent spells with Crotone, Siena and Sampdoria before eventually joining Parma in July 2009.

There he established himself as a regular in the starting XI, making 208 appearances in six seasons for the Stadio Ennio Tardini outfit before they were declared bankrupt last year. With his contract declared null and void, newly promoted Bologna would quickly sign Mirante, per Forza Italian Football, and his performances in 2015/16 have fully vindicated that decision.

The Felsinei finished the season in 14th place, yet only seven teams in Serie A conceded fewer goals than their tally of 45, with the 32-year-old undoubtedly playing his part by keeping an impressive 12 clean sheets in his 33 appearances.

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Only four goalkeepers—Juve’s Gigi Buffon, Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan), Pepe Reina (Napoli) and Ciprian Tatarusanu (Fiorentina)—could better that mark, with statistics from Fox Soccer showing Mirante’s total of 95 saves also ranked 10th among all players.

He would log a number of superb performances, notably the 3-2 win over Napoli in December and April’s 1-1 draw with an in-form AS Roma, proving each time that he is undaunted by matches against the very best sides.

Mirante may not have the headline-grabbing status of an Alves or Mascherano, but he could prove to be a highly valuable acquisition should he join Juventus, and his former club would be wise to follow up on their interest in him.