Juventus made quite the effort to land the signature of Samuel Iling-Junior from Chelsea back in the summer of 2020 and now appear to reaping the benefits.
Two years on from his arrival, Iling-Junior has been named in the match-day squad for the Bianconeri's home clash against Salernitana on Sunday evening. Having been announced as a Juventus player at the tender age of 16, Illing-Junior has at long last been deemed ready for the rigours of senior Seria A football.
If it were up to those at the top of the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, there's every chance the France Youth international would still be playing his football in West London. Chelsea were more than willing to hand Iling-Junior his first professional contract, but he deemed the grass in Turin greener and upped sticks.
That's not to say he didn't harbour plenty of affection for the Blues, his lengthy social media tribute after his departure confirmed as much. "Full of vast emotions, being at Chelsea from such a young age has truly built me, not only as the player I am today but also as a person," Iling-Junior wrote.
"It’s been a blessed journey and I’m deeply thankful for all those in the Academy. From the groundsmen, kitchen staff, players, coaches, the list goes on. I would also like to give thanks to the people around me, my family and friends who have consistently supported me.
"This is just the start."
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Chelsea already have some notable academy graduates strutting their stuff in the Italian top-flight in the form of Tammy Abraham of Roma and AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori. Iling-Junior is on course to be the next in line, especially under the guidance of Massimiliano Allegri.
The England Under-19's international versatility is arguably his most notable attribute. At the time of his arrival in Turin, Iling-Junior was regarded as a left-wing-back or a left-sided forward. Keen to show the Juventus coaching staff his prowess he has found himself on the opposite flank, as a playmaker behind the striker or even as a central midfielder.
Andrea Bonatti, former manager of Juventus' Under-19's outfit, was a huge fan of Iling-Junior's dribbling and was keen to deploy him in more attacking roles.
A fierce shot and a keen eye for goal, Iling-Junior's days at left-back are long gone and he's actually been touted as a potential option up front moving forward.
Perhaps what is most striking about Iling-Junior is his work-rate, his desire to squeeze every last drop of talent out to give himself the best chance of success.
In the summer of 2021, before first-team football was on the cards for Iling-Junior at Juventus, the player organised private training sessions while he was back in London visiting family as well as Italian lessons to further his grasp on the language.
Should he get some well-deserved minutes in Juventus' first-team, it would not only continue the trend of young English talent succeeding abroad (see Jamal Musiala, Jadon Sancho and the aforementioned Chelsea duo), it would mark Iling-Junior's relentless hard-work coming to fruition.
