With the Pape Matar Sarr operation now apparently in its final stages, Giovanni Carnevali is thinking further ahead — and the name that has emerged as a second midfield target, reported by Belgian transfer journalist Sacha Tavolieri, points unmistakably to the Sassuolo connection that has defined so much of his approach at Juventus. Darryl Bakola, the 18-year-old French midfielder currently making his senior debut at the Emilian club, is the subject of concrete Juventus interest.
Who Is Darryl Bakola?
Bakola is a midfielder of considerable promise who has already made three first-team appearances for Sassuolo this season — two in Serie B and one in the Coppa Italia, all from the start. At just 18, and with the senior environment clearly not presenting an insurmountable challenge for him, he fits precisely the profile of technically gifted young talent with significant upside that Carnevali has consistently prioritised throughout this summer’s rebuild.
The Sassuolo connection is the obvious and important backdrop. This is the club Carnevali ran for over a decade before his move to Turin, the environment he knows better than any other in Italian football, and the network of relationships — with sporting directors, agents, and players — that has already delivered Muharemović’s windfall, Adžić’s loan to the Emilian club, and the Ekhator signing from Genoa. A Bakola pursuit would be the latest expression of the same institutional intelligence.
