Juventus Transfer News: Alex Meret Rumours Return, Latest on SPAL Goalkeeper

Juventus are reportedly still looking at SPAL goalkeeper Alex Meret with an eye on signing the young talent.

According to Calciomercato.com's Fabrizio Romano, the 21-year-old has long been of interest to the Bianconeri. Juventus are seeking a back-up for Wojciech Szczesny, who is expected to become the full-time starter next season.

Calciomercato.com's Nicola Balice previously reported on Juventus' interest in the player. Other clubs have also been linked with Meret, including Napoli, per Corriere dello Sport (via Football Italia):

Meret is a product of Udinese's vaunted academy and has spent the last two seasons on loan at SPAL. He played a massive role in the team's promotion to the Serie A last year, and he's been great in the Italian top division as well―even though he has missed a good chunk of the season due to injury.

Here's a look at some of his highlights:

Italy has a reputation for producing great goalkeepers, and the current generation of young talents is a special one. Gianluigi Donnarumma leads the way at AC Milan, while Genoa's Mattia Perin and Benevento's Alessio Cragno are also highly regarded.

But Meret could well be Donnarumma's main competition for Italy's top spot in the future. He has an excellent all-round skill set to go with his tremendous athleticism and command of the box.

Where most other young stoppers―including Donnarumma―tend to make mental errors, Meret's game is remarkably clean already.

Claudio Villa/Getty Images

He played a huge role in the scoreless draw against Juventus last month, a performance for which he was rightly praised, and has a tendency to reserve some of his best saves for the biggest stage.

Perhaps the best performance of his young career came at the Under-19 European Championships in 2016, where he left hosts Germany in disbelief at some of his saves:

Juventus haven't had the best of luck with young goalkeeping talents of late, as both Nicola Leali and Laurentiu Branescu―both highly rated when they arrived―haven't lived up to the hype. Their best prospect is academy product Emil Audero, who has flashed tantalising upside in limited time and is starring on loan at Venezia.

Like Meret, Audero is seen as a star of the future, but he's likely to go back out on loan, this time to a club in Serie A. The Bianconeri will still need a back-up if Gianluigi Buffon retires, and Meret could be the perfect candidate.

Udinese know how to nurture young goalkeeping talents―Simone Scuffet is another highly rated academy graduate―so they could be tempted into a sale this summer, knowing they have the ability to find other future stars.