Juventus announced on Tuesday that they have completed the signing of Italy under-21 midfielder Rolando Mandragora from Genoa.

Mandragora is believed to have completed a medical with the Bianconeri on Monday before the deal was officially completed this morning. Juventus will pay €6 million over the next three years for the 18 year old but that fee could rise by as much as €6 million if the player meets a series of performance related clauses. Mandragora has signed a five year deal with  the Old Lady but he will spend the remainder of this season on loan at Pescara in Serie B.

Debut against the Old Lady

Mandragora came through the youth system at Genoa before making his Serie A debut in October 2014 in a 1-0 win against his new club. He struggled to hold down a regular place in the team however and ended up featuring in just five league games. At the beginning of this season he was loaned out to Pescara and he has featured in 16 games for the Biancazzurri as they sit in 3rd place of Serie B. He can now look forward to the rest of the season with Pescara as they attempt to close in on Cagliari and Crotone who currently hold the two automatic promotion slots to Serie A before making the move to Turin in the summer.

Mandragora has been on loan at Pescara (Pescarasport24.it)
Mandragora has been on loan at Pescara (Pescarasport24.it)

It remains to be be seen whether Mandragora will stay at Juventus next season but it is probably more likely that he will spend time away from the club on loan as has been the case with a lot of the clubs young stars in recent seasons. Should Pescara get promoted he may be allowed to stay there and get top flight experience while continuing his development with the regular playing time that would most likely not come his way in Turin. Regardless of what the next year or two bring at 18 years old he looks to have huge potential and if he can continue improving he could be one of the next generation of top class Italian midfielders. 

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About the author
Gerry Johnston
Cover Spanish and Italian football for VAVEL UK.