Juventus will take on Cesena today in their first friendly of the 2021-22 pre-season, with Max Allegri expected to take a closer look at his squad.

The returning manager comes back after just two seasons away, but there are a number of players coming through the ranks who he needs a closer inspection, and certain players may well come out of today’s match on the loan list, while some others may even convince the boss to give him a role in the first-team squad.

Nicolo Fagioli and Radu Dragusin are those most highly rated, both featuring in the first-team squad last term, and will be the most likely to convince Allegri to include them in his first-team plans, but I certainly wouldn’t rule out others from making an impression also.

Weston McKennie is expected to feature this evening, having returned from his exploits in the CONCACAF Nations League where he returned as champions, picking up the MVP Player Award for the tournament also, although he isn’t expected to be playing for his place, but the manager will likely be keen to figure out how best to use his talents, with the previous manager initially fielding him as a box-to-box midfielder, before playing him in a wider, more attacking role.

The ones I’m most excited to see this evening is Felix Correia and Marley Ake, who are yet to make their mark in the first-team since their respective moves from Man City and Marseille, with the latter having made his debut in Ligue 1 last term before making the switch to Turin in January.

Predicted Line-up (4-2-3-1):

Perrin
De Sciglio Dragusin Rugani Frabotta
McKennie Fagioli
Rafia Felix Correia Marley Ake
De Graca

Which of our youngsters do you believe is worthy of their first-team chance this season?

Patrick