Massimiliano Allegri has included two new Next Gen players in the travelling Juventus squad set to play against Empoli on Monday evening in the absence of a number of established senior figures.
With Danilo and Juan Cuadrado both ineligible to play through suspension, and with Mattia De Sciglio injured indefinitely, Allegri has called up 21-year-olds Alessandro Riccio and Alessandro Sersanti to bulk out the squad.
Riccio has travelled with the senior squad on a number of occasions previously, but this will be the first time travelling with the team for Sersanti, although neither have yet been given any competitive minutes under Allegri.
Riccio, a defender by trade, has been on Juve’s books since he was a teenager, joining the Bianconeri academy in 2016, having been scouted near his hometown in Campania.
Sersanti on the other hand, is a more recent acquisition, having joined the Next Gen set-up in 2021, having previously been on the books of Fiorentina, with a two-year loan spell at Grosseto sandwiched in between.
When Juve take to the field against Empoli, the right wing-back position is likely to be filled by fellow Next Gen product Tommaso Barbieri, who is in line for his third Serie A appearance, having been made a permanent fixture in the Juventus first team squad after the injury to De Sciglio.
Kick off at the Castellani is set for 19.45 UK time.