Juventus’ Moise Kean: The Youth-Team Star Ready for First-Team Action

“Moise Kean is the name to watch in 2017, and I’m not just saying that because I’m his agent,” Mino Raiola told the Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football Italia) last week. “He is only 16 years old, but has this determination within him that is just scary. He can become a big star at Juventus.”

The player’s representative is clearly not the best barometer of talent, with Raiola using that same interview to say another client, Mario Balotelli, is “among the best four forwards in the world.”

Yet his comments on Kean—a 16-year-old in the Bianconeri youth sector—are not only accurate, they are something of a warning to the Turin club who have risked losing the striker before he even turns professional.

Indeed, with the player yet to sign a contract, he could leave for minimal compensation in much the same way as Juve signed Paul Pogba from Manchester United back in 2012. Reports in both Italy and England have linked Arsenal and Manchester City with Kean, per TalkSport, but he is expected to sign a three-year deal with the Bianconeri soon.

That bodes well for the Old Lady given his progression over the past 12 months. But before going on to discuss the latest talented starlet to emerge from her extensive scouting network and youth-development programmes, perhaps it is worth recapping the full list of players who have graduated from it and gone on to secure a regular place in the Bianconeri first team.

Claudio Marchisio.

That’s it. One player. A couple of others—including Paolo De Ceglie and Luca Marrone—have made fleeting and ultimately disappointing appearances, but for all the talk of improving that aspect of the club, Juventus have yet to reap the rewards, as many of their youngsters prove to be far below the standard required at a top European club.

Claudio Marchisio’s Juventus career began in the same year Paul Pogba was born, 1993. #Bandiera pic.twitter.com/CoY7H9iBCW

— Patrick Gullaci (@pgullaci) August 9, 2016

In one of his first interviews with the Juventus Channel (h/t Football Italia), director general Beppe Marotta promised “to create a Juve in the style of Barcelona.” Yet perhaps most tellingly, he also noted that while it takes “instinct to find the most promising players,” it would also require “courage to give them a debut in the first team.”

The Bianconeri have yet to show any such bravery, instead farming out their …

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