Report: Juventus identify Silvan Widmer, Sime Vrsaljko as potential Juan Cuadrado replacements

Before Antonio Conte went across Europe and agreed to become Chelsea's next manager, the possibility of Juan Cuadrado staying with Juventus seemed to be a pretty strong certainty. But with Conte, a known fan of Cuadrado, now being at the helm of the club that still owns the Colombian's contract, the waters have become a little murkier.

That means if there's a future without Cuadrado included in it, Beppe Marotta and Co. need to make sure their bases are covered and a backup plan is in place for Stephan Lichtsteiner's backup plan.

This is where a few right backs Juventus have been linked to in the past now come back into the picture.

One of the bianconeri's objectives is to find an alternative to Lichtsteiner: at the moment the most concrete targets are Sassuolo's Vrsaljko and Udinese's Widmer, whom they scouted in person in the match on Wednesday against Fiorentina. Juan Cuadrado's destiny is uncertain- he could return to Chelsea where he could join Conte who is eager to work with him. At the moment Danilo remains just a dream since Real Madrid has a high valuation for the Brazilian right back after they invested €30 million last year.

(Source: Gianluca Di Marzio)

Of course, all of this depends on a couple of things. For one, how much Conte wants Cuadrado back at Chelsea. And, I would assume, a corresponding piece of the puzzle is how much Cuadrado will end up costing Juventus if and when they do try to sign him on a permanent basis. Marotta has made it no secret that Juventus want to keep Cuadrado, but the Conte Factor is going to hang over this deal until something is resolved.

And seeing as Widmer and Vrsaljko are on clubs which Juventus has done plenty of business with over the years, it's no surprise that they are two of the names that are potentially replacements for Cuadrado. They're also both in the mid-20s, which means they're not exactly finished products and should have room to grow if they are signed.

But, above all else, having a backup plan is good. And these two options wouldn't be the worst thing to have happen to Juventus. That is, if you don't want to see them potentially overpay just to make sure Cuadrado sticks around.