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We've heard rumors of Luca Marrone going out on loan somewhere before. They aren't new. They can be considered rather tiresome at this point. They've pretty much been a regular occurrence whenever a transfer window has been open for the past two years.
This time, the song and dance actually has a whole lot of truth behind it.
Juventus' "other" Turin-born central midfielder is a Juve player no more. Well, at least for the 2013-14 campaign. The 23-year-old Marrone — who has been the eye of a number of Serie A and European clubs — has joined one of Serie A's newest clubs, Sassuolo, on a co-ownership deal worth €4.5 million.
From Juventus' official website:
Juventus Football Club and U.S. Sassuolo Calcio have today reached an agreement on two transfer deals concerning Luca Marrone and Domenico Berardi.
Marrone, who has risen through the Bianconeri youth team ranks, will now link up with the newly-promoted Neroverdi after they purchased 50 percent of his registration rights.
Marrone made just 13 Serie A appearances since he returned to Juventus two years ago after a very good loan spell under the watchful eye of a certain Antonio Conte at Siena in Serie B. But despite the fact Conte was a staunch supporter of Marrone and routinely saying he will stay at the club whenever a team wanted him on loan in past transfer windows, playing time was hard to come by. It was understandable considering just how stacked Juventus' midfield has been the past two years since Conte became manager.
But now one has to assume that Marrone will see plenty of playing time — be it in the center of Sassuolo's midfield or defense — at his new club. And in turn, you have to wonder if Juventus will do anything before the summer transfer window closes to add a midfielder just for depth purposes. Because even though Marrone didn't play much at all the past two years, there was a least a sense of security with him being on the roster just in case something did happen to those who play on a regular basis.