Juventus: Licina returns to Turin, today Spalletti watches him for the future

The playmaker is a rough diamond Juventus do not want to lose

In the black-and-white half of Turin, some already speak of a small regret when Adin Licina's name comes up. The talented attacking midfielder and winger, born in 2007, spent almost the whole summer with Luciano Spalletti's Juventus first team, but the path chosen for him then led to a loan move to Cremonese.

Now the German returns to the pitch at Continassa as an opponent in the friendly the two clubs have arranged to stay sharp during this long break. He will be one of the players under close watch, not least with the future in mind and, why not, even January.

Friendly match
Juventus will face Cremonese in a friendly at 12pm at Continassa. The aim is to give valuable minutes to players returning from injury, such as Andrea Cambiaso, while keeping up the physical intensity for those not called up by their national teams.
In the grigiorossi ranks, according to Tuttosport, former Juventus player Licina will be there and Spalletti will watch him closely with one eye on the future and to assess the progress he has made so far.

Devastating impact in Serie B
Adin Licina, a German of clear Montenegrin origin, is a left-footed playmaker who likes to start wide on the right. Born in 2007, like Yildiz, Juventus "snatched" him from Bayern Munich in the winter transfer window of 2006.
So far he has only had a taste of Juventus' first team, but his spell in Serie C with Next Gen convinced Massara and Carnevali in the summer to let him take the next step at an ambitious Serie B club like Cremonese. It was a dry loan so they would not lose him, and he has already made a devastating impact in the second tier: four appearances across the league and Coppa Italia, two goals and one assist, plus a string of spectacular pieces of skill that have caught the eye of fans and scouts.
Special focus
Juventus are pushing hard for him, and today's friendly will also give them a chance to assess his progress in person. Plenty of clubs are already tracking Licina and, with the Bianconeri's financial situation still to be fully defined, they will have to make several decisions next summer to boost revenues from player trading.
Someone will inevitably leave. The only question is who. Licina is currently at Cremona on a dry loan, but several clauses affecting his registration were left in Bayern's favour in January 2006 when he was signed: the Bavarian club secured a priority clause in the event of a future sale, or 30% of any resale fee, which would significantly reduce any possible capital gain.
Juventus' plan for Licina is clear: he will not be the one sacrificed and, if he breaks out, a return to Turin as early as next January cannot be ruled out at all.