OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Juventus fullback Pol Lirola joins Sassuolo on a two-year loan deal

One of the biggest benefits of half of Juventus’ regular first team squad being on their respective post-Euro 2016 vacations is that we got to see some of the brightest starlets the primavera squad has to offer try and make an impact.

Considering all of the youngsters who have played and to make an impact in Australia, Pol Lirola has probably been on the top of that list.

And as of Thursday morning in Italy, Pol Lirola knew what his immediate future will consist of.

In a move that has been widely expected to happen for the better part of the last week, Sassuolo has announced they’ve made their latest deal with the five-time defending Serie A champions. It involves Lirola, Juve’s incredibly talented 18-year-old right back prospect, going to Sassuolo on a two-year loan deal that will keep him at the Mapei Stadium through the 2017-18 season.

Lirola, who started both of Juventus’ International Champions Cup games in Australia, came to Juventus from the Espanyol academy on loan before Juve made his move a permanent in the summer of 2015. He’s been Juve’s primavera squad ever since — and a standout performer on top of all of that.

He will now be playing with the big boys in Serie A. And to loan out a player so young, let alone one who is still in his teens, is something that doesn’t happen all that much at Juventus. We’ve seen some of the more talented players be sent out to Serie B sides for a season or two and then see where things go, but rarely Serie A at the age of 18.

This is a big step for Lirola, but one that he could prove to handle given how highly some folks rate him. Either way, this is going to show us what the kid is capable of doing on the field against the best teams Italy has to offer. And thankfully, as we’ve come to know, he’s going to a Sassuolo side that certainly does have its success when it comes to developing young players while being competitive at the same time.