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Juve, Rugani’s promotion could push Benatia away from the J Stadium
The 22-year-old defender was a mainstay at Empoli under Maurizio Sarri last term but he took a while to get the staring status at the J Stadium this term.
However, the injuries of Giorgio Chiellini and Martin Caceres have ‘helped’ the promising Italian defender to get some more playing time in the second part of the season, so much so he has racked up 15 appearances in Serie A this term, nine as a starter.
Massimiliano Allegri thinks extremely high of him. The Italian tactician did not give Rugani lot of game time at the beginning of the season, but his inclusion among senior team players has been gradual and pondered in order to avoid the player’s mental burnout.
Rugani, who picked up his first yellow card in Serie A last Sunday against Fiorentina, will see his playing time further increasing next season as Martin Caceres will leave the J Stadium as a free agent, while Giorgio Chiellini will not be able to play all games due to some muscular hassles which have been sidelining the solid rock Italian defender for 18 games this season.
The former Empoli starlet’s promotion could also convince Marotta and Paratici not to sign Mehdi Benatia. The Old Lady has already found economic agreement to sign the Bayern Munich’s defender next season, but the bianconeri are still monitoring the Morocco International ‘s fitness and could decide to drop him to keep Rugani and boost the promising Italian defender’s development.
Lorenzo Bettoni @lorebetto, adapted from an article by Andrea Distaso @AdreaDista83
