Homegrown Juventus Star Shining On The Big Stage

The 2022/23 season might not have gone the way Juventus wanted it to, but homegrown star Nicolò Fagioli is providing the Italian club – and their fans – with plenty of enjoyment.

Embroiled in the “plusvalenza” scandal – the latest details of which are explained in this previous column – the 15 points they were docked has resulted in the Bianconeri having to battle hard for a UEFA
EFA
Champions League berth rather than contend for the Serie A title.

Max Allegri and his men have also made good progress in the UEFA Europa League (read more on their progress in that competition here), but have also been blighted by injuries to key players.

Yet while Federico Chiesa, Arkadiusz Milik, Paul Pogba, Alex Sandro and others fight to regain form and fitness, their prolonged absences from the lineup have created opportunities for others to shine.

Fagioli has arguably stepped up to that challenge more than any other player.

The midfielder celebrated his 22nd birthday just last month, but he has already made 28 first team appearances for Juve, as well as another 32 for the club’s Under-23 side which competes in the third tier of Italian football.

His journey from his hometown of Piacenza to being an important figure for the Turin giants has not been easy, but along the way Fagioli has proven again and again that he is something special.

After joining the Piacenza youth system, he moved on to Cremonese at the age of nine before Juve picked him up back in 2015, beating other Italian clubs and even Manchester United to his signature.

“Nicoló is a mummy’s boy, he has never liked distance,” Fagioli’s brother Alessandro told TuttoSport back in November. “When he was in the Cremonese youth team, he said no to Manchester United, he didn’t feel ready to leave Italy.

“And he preferred to decline the interest of Inter, AC Milan and Atalanta for Juve.”

Two years later he was shining in the Old Lady’s Under-19 side despite only being 16, occasionally training with the first team in order to aid his development.

“You could tell Fagioli was different from other youngsters when he trained with us in the senior team at 17,” Miralem Pjanić revealed in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport this week, looking back on a campaign that saw the youngster bag 13 goals in just 25 games.

That impact saw the Bianconeri send him to spend time with their Under-23 side playing in Serie C, while also making his first team debut with a start in the Coppa Italia and a substitute appearance in Serie A.

Having once again comfortably stepped up to the next level, Juventus then sent Fagioli back to Cremonese on loan for the 2021/22 campaign. That too proved to be a fine learning ground for the midfielder, who made 26 starts and seven sub appearances for the Grigiorossi.

His excellent performances were punctuated by three goals and seven assists as Fagioli helped push Cremonese to a second-place finish and earn promotion to Serie A for the first time since 1996.

They would have to compete in the top flight without Fagioli however, as he returned to Juve and opened talks over a new contract with his previous deal set to expire and other clubs beginning to show interest.

As those negotiations got underway, the club discussed sending him out on loan again for more experience, Fagioli’s agent Andrea D’Amico revealed the one demand his client had.

Indeed, according to Marco Guidi of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fagioli insisted on being allowed to stay at Juventus and fight for a place, and Juventus relented in August, announcing that the player had signed a deal to stay at the club until 2026.

Now just a few months later, everyone connected to the Bianconeri is glad he dug his heels in, because as the injury list grew, Max Allegri was forced to press him into service, giving him sporadic appearances in the opening games before Fagioli smashed home his first Serie A goal against Lecce on October 29.

That was followed by a start against PSG, followed by inclusion in the starting XI the following weekend against Inter where Fagioli once again got on the scoresheet, capping his full Serie A debut with a goal against Juve’s biggest rivals.

The rapid rise did not end there, with Roberto Mancini calling him up to the Italian national team in November, although the player himself missed the announcement after getting an early night following an away win over Hellas Verona.

“I didn’t even notice it because I was sleeping, we had played in Verona and I was tired,” Fagioli said in an interview with Vivo Azzurro. “.Then the messages arrived. I didn’t expect it.

“I was happy and so was my family. It was a great satisfaction. When you play football you always try to reach the national team.”

He’s certainly not short of fans either, with former Juve players queuing up to pay tributes to his talent, including Andrea Pirlo who was of course the Coach of the Bianconeri when Fagioli made his breakthrough with the first team.

“The biggest leap was made by Fagioli, who made his debut with me,” Pirlo told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “He knows how to do everything and is a staple at Juve and has the skills to excel in direction.

“He can be the new Pirlo, but better to be remembered as Fagioli.”

There was more from Miralem Pjanić too, who told the same newspaper that he has “always admired Nicolò and I am not surprised by what he is doing this season. He must continue like this and remain humble.

“Massimiliano Allegri and his staff will help him become a top midfielder at an international level,” the former Juve and Barcelona midfielder continued. “He is the present and the future of the national team.”

In 14 starts and 10 sub appearances this term, Fagioli is certainly proving he can deliver at the highest level, so far weighing in with two goals and four assists in all competitions.

According to figures from WhoScored.com, he is making 57.5 passes per 90 minutes and connecting with 86.8% of those efforts. Their figures show Fagioli is also creating 1.3 clear scoring opportunities for his team-mates per 90 minutes, all while displaying excellent tactical awareness and sound defensive diligence.

As the club look to steer a path through their off-field issues, a homegrown talent like this emerging is vital, and Nicolò Fagioli looks set to be a huge part of Juventus both now and in the future.