Add Antonio Mirante to Juventus' list of reported backup goalkeeper options

As far as we know, Juventus backup goalkeeper Neto has never expressed any displeasure about his current standing at the club. His first season in Turin saw minimal appearances thanks to Gigi Buffon's continued brilliance. But complaints about it? Nope those haven't happened.

That hasn't stopped the Italian media from doing what they did best — playing the speculation game to the best of their ability.

The list of potential Neto replacements is starting to grow past just one rumored target. Late last month we heard that it was Paris Saint-Germain's Salvatore Sirigu, a man who backs up Buffon on the international level. Now, according to Gazzetta World, it's somebody who used to be Buffon's understudy, Bologna goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.

The Bianconeri are looking for a replacement for outbound goalkeeper Neto, and coach Massimiliano Allegri has already given his blessing for the 32-year-old.

Mirante has emerged as an attractive option due to the fact that Juve can count him towards their quota of home-grown players, as the goalkeeper is a former Juventus youth product, graduating from the academy in 2004.

So, the whole "outbound goalkeeper Neto" is a thing that we'll still unsure of based on the simple fact that all of this is conjecture at this point. Maybe this talk about him leaving this summer will turn out to be true, or maybe it will be nothing more than something to pass the time as we deal with no calcio in our lives for the next couple of months.

When it comes to Mirante, who was with Juventus during the Serie B season, he's more than capable of being a starter in Italy's top flight for any number of teams, let alone a club like Bologna that was just a few points from the relegation zone this year. Who knows for sure if he would be willing to come back to Juve to be Buffon's backup. But if he does, it would remind me of when Marco Storari signed with Juventus back in 2010. Obviously a different kind of situation knowing that Buffon was going to be out for nearly half the season, but a solid keeper in his 30s who could still be a first-team choice deciding that Juve would be the place he wants to be.

I'll just say what I said at the end of the Sirigu thread: Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's something. But hey, it's something to talk about, I guess.