In 2015, young Spanish right-back Pol Lirola left his homeland to join Juventus from Espanyol. The bianconeri placed him into the Primavera squad for a season before sending him out on-loan to Sassuolo for the current campaign.
 

Now a return to Spain or more specifically, a move back to Catalunya may be on the cards as Barcelona continues to keep a close eye on the 19-year-old. The blaugrana are lacking a right-back and this season they have been using Sergio Roberto as an auxiliary, since the summer departure of Dani Alves. Lirola is Spanish, young, and has a profile pleasing to boss Luis Enrique so it’s no coincidence that the local press are getting excited about his possible return.  

CEO Marotta and Sporting Director Paratici have a plan however; Lirola is on a two-year loan at Sassuolo and it’s likely that he will stay for a further season to continue his growth before returning to Turin in 2018. At that point, Juve will look to insert him into the starting XI with Lichsteiner  certainly at the end of his career and Dani Alves likewise. Juan Cuadrado is not a natural full-back so Lirola could be a huge asset to the bianconeri. What is for certain is that the Serie A champions don’t want to see him leave despite the possible temptation that would obviously come with a potential move to the Camp Nou.

Steve Mitchell @barafundler