Among the summer twists and turns experienced by Juventus, there is obviously the official exclusion from the Europa League Conference, the signing of Timothy Weah and the arrival of the new sporting director from Napoli, Cristiano Giuntoli. But behind this big news, other news went unnoticed, including the return of Claudio Chiellini, brother of the former Italian international and Juve legend, to the club’s offices to take over the management of the reserve team: the Juventus NextGen. The project of this second professional team, created in 2018 under the name Under 23, now has national solidity and reputation. The technical, tactical and competitive gap that separates the youth sectors from the first teams being too great, Juventus has been able to exploit the idea of offering its young players an immediate outlet from the nursery where they play in Serie C, the Italian third division.
“Claudio Chiellini will become the NextGen Area Manager from July 1. After serving as Pisa’s sporting director in Serie B for two seasons, Chiellini’s return marks the resumption of his journey with the Bianconeri which began in 2014 and ended in June 2021. Now his return to Juventus to take in charge of a key asset for the club, Next Gen, a project whose birth he witnessed and of which he was the team coordinator for three seasons, the first years of its existence”, it was written in the official statement published by Juventus at the beginning of the summer. A way to quickly place the new ambitions of this Juventus which needs figures of hope, at a time when the management is forced to part with at least one executive between Federico Chiesa, Gleison Bremer and Dusan Vlahovic.
Nuggets to develop or enhance
But today Juventus NextGen already has a fundamental impact for Massimiliano Allegri. Last season is the perfect example: in a year of great general confusion with penalties, injuries and other successive sanctions, Juventus promoted some still unknown young professionals who certainly appear more mature today than yesterday. Nicolò Fagioli (22) has turned into a regular starter, as has Fabio Miretti (19), who is following him closely, and Samuel Iling-Junior has become a real explosive project in development in the hands of Allegri. Without forgetting the Argentinian striker Matias Soulè (20 years old) who was important at certain times of the season, like the Argentinian midfielder Enzo Barrenechea (22 years old), who unexpectedly tasted his first minutes and then only never left the pro group again. Other nuggets are waiting at the door and are already making headlines in Italy. The new NextGen will rely on the overwhelming technical power of Dean Huijsen in defense, on the wisdom of Joseph Nonge in midfield, on the inspiration of Kenan Yildiz up front and on goalkeeper Giovanni Daffara, who has grown a lot in recent months. . The project does not stop, on the contrary it consolidates.
Continuing with coach Massimo Brambilla on the bench for the NextGen is a strong symbol of continuity and leaning on these young players who are helping out Allegri during this summer tour of the United States shows the importance that these polishing nuggets will take. The project in which Juventus believes since the approval of the second teams in Italy is bearing fruit for everyone. To the first team it gives players with high potential already solid enough not to explode in mid-flight during the first professional tests. And at the club, it allows them to work in a sustainable way on a concrete project with always the same presuppositions: as soon as a player from the young teams is ready, he faces the NextGen. He grows, learns, gets his hands dirty in Serie C and then enters the Allianz Stadium with the awareness of being on the right track. And if the suit is too big, the spotlight of the Bianconeri allows him to fall directly on loan to a Serie A or Serie B team, as was the case for Tommaso Barbieri, Koni De Winter and Filippo Ranocchia.
