With a host of players absent for different reasons, Juventus travelled to London for a friendly test against Arsenal. Max Allegri had to rely on an extremely young squad en route towards a 2-0 win over the Gunners.
While the team included familiar young faces like Nicolò Fagioli, Fabio Miretti and Samuel Iling-Junior, the manager also thrusted three less renowned names in the starting formation.
In his column for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Giuseppe Nigro offers a closer look at Juve’s young trio.
The first is Tommaso Barbieri, a 20-year-old wingback who started on the right flank. The Italian was arguably the most impressive Juventus player on the pitch yesterday.
The Bianconeri signed him from Novara in 2020 beating competition from Atletico Madrid. He has already made 69 appearances in Serie C.
The second name is Enzo Barrenechea. The 20-year is a prototypical combative Argentine midfielder. He arrived to Juventus in the summer of 2020, but lost a year of development due to an ACL injury sustained in May 2021.
Nonetheless, he managed to pick up from where he had left off and is now a pillar for the Next Gen squad. He has already made his senior debut as a late substitute against PSG in the Champions League.
But the most surprising inclusion had to be Alessandro Riccio. The 20-year-old defender had never been called up to the first team prior to the London trip. Yet, he found himself in the starting lineup and produced a convincing display at the back.
The Italian has been a part of the club’s youth academy since the tender age of 14.