Daniele Rugani's agent hints at possible Juventus departure in January

When it comes to what Juventus' future lineup looks like in say, three or four years from now, Daniele Rugani is expected by many to be a huge part of it. A centerpiece of the defense — and not just because he plays in the center of the defense for both club and country. The only thing is, that future playing time hasn't exactly result in current-day playing time this season.

It's caused a decent number of Italian media folks to wonder about Rugani's future at Juventus — including a report about an official loan bid by Napoli from Il Mattino on Thursday — despite the fact he's so highly regarded at the club he's currently at.

So, with all of that being said, Rugani's agent has spoken about the young defender's season to date and the possibility — yes, seriously, it's addressed — that his client might head out in the January transfer window.

"We need to see if Rugani intends to leave Juventus, he's not played much and Napoli need a defender," agent Davide Torchia told RadioCrc.

"Daniele has always liked the club but that doesn't mean there's an ongoing negotiation.

"It's undeniable that Rugani is sorry to have played so little at Juventus, he isn't depressed but can't wait to get his chance.

"However, we're bound by time, if we don't see a radical change between now and December then we will see.

"Sarri has taught Rugani so much and it's normal that the player has an eye on the Coach.

"Juventus don't want to sell at the moment but in December we will have to analyse the situation."

(Source: Football Italia)

Do you want to know how many minutes Rugani has played for Juventus this season? About three or four more minutes than you or I have. Rugani's one appearance, his official Juventus debut, came at the end of September against Sevilla in the Champions League. But other than that, Rugani has done nothing but watch Juventus games from the bench.

(I'm sure that watching this season on the bench has been just as "enjoyable" as watching from our respective recliners and couches.)

We figured that playing time would be tough to come by for Rugani considering who is playing ahead of him this season. It's not like he was going to slide right in and take playing time from Leonardo Bonucci or the other two members of Juve's BBC defense. Like many, though, I am quite surprised that Rugani has yet to even make one Serie A appearance even with all the struggles Juventus has had this season.

Much to his credit, Rugani hasn't gone out in the press and mouthed off or anything like that even though he has yet to make any kind of impact on the field this season. That part isn't exactly a surprise knowing how low key and mature the 21-year-old kid is. Or maybe the agent is the one doing all the talking in this sense. That wouldn't exactly be out of character for a football agent, ya know.