Juventus Set to Test Rolando Mandragora on the Serie A Stage in 2016/17

There is little doubt that the 2015/16 season was a hugely successful one for Juventus, the Italian giants once again proving to be the strongest side on the peninsula by clinching a league-and-cup double for the second successive year.

That means they have also now won the Serie A title in each of the last five campaigns, yet their Champions League exit in the first knockout round has left the club hungry for more, something coach Massimiliano Allegri noted at a press conference last month.

“We’ve now won three trophies this season, an achievement which leads me to thank the players, the club and the fans, who’ve been extraordinary again tonight,” he told reporters moments after seeing his side add the Coppa Italia to the Scudetto and Supercoppa Italiana they had already won.

“We now look forward to the next campaign which will present new challenges, namely the fight for a sixth straight Scudetto, retaining the Coppa Italia and performing well in the UEFA Champions League,” Allegri added, and the club seem intent on helping him achieve those aims.

As the Bianconeri seek the reinforcements needed to improve, it is not difficult to identify which areas of the squad are most in need of strengthening during this summer’s transfer window. With a stout defence and four high-quality strikers, it is in midfield where major investment is arguably becoming vital.

In this recent post analysing which four players Juventus should look to sell ahead of next season, three—Hernanes, Kwadwo Asamoah and Roberto Pereyra—are all usually deployed in the middle of the park.

Each was massively disappointing last term, and it is little surprise that the one new addition the club has already confirmed is a midfielder. Rolando Mandragora may not be a player who can deliver the Champions League crown to Juventus, but he could prove to be a valuable signing and certainly more impactful than that aforementioned trio were last season.

OFFICIAL: Rolando Mandragora joins Juventus from Genoa. More on https://t.co/whCoAp8mvQ: https://t.co/RAIWq2fvRv pic.twitter.com/gMjnVDhNmf

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 19, 2016

According to the club’s official website, they paid €6 million to acquire the 19-year-old from Genoa back in January, with a potential further €6 million in bonuses “should he achieve certain sporting targets stipulated in the agreement.”

Also revealing that Mandragora signed a five-year contract, the Bianconeri allowed him to spend the last six months on loan at Pescara, continuing a stint with the Serie B outfit that began the previous summer.

It was a deal fully in-keeping with Juve’s philosophy of signing the best emerging Italian talent, something director general Beppe Marotta took time to explain at a recent Football Leader …

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