Federico Bernardeschi has been one of the most criticized players in Juventus for at least the last two seasons.

The former Fiorentina man arrived to Turin as one of the brightest stars in Italian football, but he is yet to fulfill his initial promise.

However, after a series of underwhelming performances this campaign, the winger came to Andrea Pirlo’s rescue against Spezia.

Bernardeschi immediately provided the assist for Alvaro Morata’s opener after coming off the bench, before creating Federico Chiesa’s goal as well

Pirlo had been slowly transforming the Italian international into a deeper role, and on Monday, he appeared to play as a left wingback with a license to go forward.

According to the Republica (via TuttoJuve), Bernardeschi will be set for a key role for the upcoming encounters against Lazio and Porto.

The Old Lady will welcome the Biancoceleste on Saturday, but will be without the suspended Gianluca Frabotta.

Therefore, Berna could be set to play from the start. It should be noted that the 27-year-old replaced the youngster on Monday night, and had a much better outing.

On Tuesday, Juventus will host the Portuguese champions in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.

Unfortunately for Pirlo, he will have to do without the suspended Danilo who has been one of his key players this season.

Due to the lack of fullbacks – with Juan Cuadrado’s availability still uncertain – the young coach could also opt to rely on Bernardeschi in a wingback role for the decisive European fixture.

Thus, we will soon find out whether the former Fiorentina man has finally found his feet in this new role, or if his performance against Spezia was merely down to the humble size of the opposition.