Tudor could give Juventus Next Gen teenager first-team debut after Gatti’s injury | OneFootball

With Federico Gatti out of the picture, Igor Tudor is looking to promote Javier Gil Puche to the senior squad, and potentially hand him his debut.

The Croatian manager started his reign with a 1-0 win over Genoa, but this occasion was marred by Gatti’s injury. The Italian defender will be out of action for around a month. On Wednesday night, he was spotted on crutches while attending the team’s dinner at Leonardo Bonucci’s’ restaurant in Turin.

This is a major blow for Tudor who plays with three at the back, and already has limited options. With Gleison Bremer also ruled out until the end of the season, he’s only left with three centre-backs, namely Renato Veiga, Lloyd Kelly and Pierre Kalulu.

Therefore, the 46-year-old needs additional reinforcement, so he decided to resort to the club’s youth ranks which are brimming with promising talents.

According to IlBianconero, Tudor will call up Javier Gil for the weekend clash against Roma. The 18-year-old is a Spanish defender who started his career at Real Murcia and then joined Alaves, before being poached by Juventus in the summer of 2023.

The teenager spent the previous campaign developing his game with the club’s Primavera team, but was promoted to the Next Gen this season.

Gil has already been called up to the first team on three occasions during Thiago Motta’s reign. His latest appearance on the bench was during the much-maligned Coppa Italia defeat to Empoli. However, he has yet to make his debut for the senior side.

But with Kalulu, Veiga and Kelly all on the pitch, the Spaniard could be one injury away from taking the field, unless Tudor opts to field one of his midfielders at the back.

Moreover, Vasilije Adzic is once again training with the first team after spending the last few months with the Next Gen, so he might be able to find more space with Tudor in charge.