It will be a little like coming home — even though Adin Licina is not a young man who lets himself be overwhelmed by emotions. Nineteen years old and yet a self-possession that belongs to a more mature footballer: someone who knows what he wants and how to go and take it. It will be a return to the Continassa after having left it only a few weeks ago: a arrivederci, not a goodbye — because the fantasista is firmly in the club’s future plans, and Cremonese will enjoy him for only one season, with the ambition of pushing for promotion to Serie A.
The Shared Decision — and Why It Was the Right One
Pecchia enjoys him day-to-day; Spalletti follows him from a distance. Licina returns from a Serie B loan as one of the most prized talents in Italian football — winner of the Gianluca Vialli Award for the best young player in the division, two goals and an assist in his opening matches, a viral first touch that conquered the country. The decision to send him out on a temporary basis was agreed between all parties: the Next Gen stage was becoming too small for his capabilities, with the possibility of showing his qualities at a higher level; and Juventus could not immediately offer him the first-team space he needed to develop, given the pressures that come with the senior environment.
Spalletti’s Esteem — the Second Chapter That Changes Everything
The paywalled second chapter — “Spalletti ha grande considerazione di Licina” — is the most significant revelation in the article. The manager has been following the 19-year-old closely and has already developed genuine esteem for him as a professional talent and as a person. His plan is not to bring Licina back for the end of this season — the Cremonese loan runs through June — but to evaluate him directly in pre-season and make a proper assessment of his readiness for first-team involvement. The summer of 2027, in Spalletti’s current thinking, is the realistic window for integration into the senior squad.
The context is important: Spalletti’s midfield emergency — with Locatelli and Thuram simultaneously absent for months — has created a gap that the manager cannot fill from external sources alone. Licina’s profile — technically refined, capable of playing as a mezzala or in more advanced roles, with the physicality and character of a player born to compete at the highest level — places him in the category of players Spalletti considers seriously rather than merely monitors with interest.
The International Intrigue — and the Market Value That Has Attracted Attention
The third chapter of the article — “Il valore di mercato” — addresses the commercial dimension that has been growing since the Vialli award and the viral attention. Germany, Bosnia, Montenegro — three national federations still awaiting a definitive answer on his international eligibility. And beyond those national team suitors, several European clubs have been making discreet enquiries about a player who is currently worth significantly more than the fee Juventus paid to sign him from Bayern Munich’s academy in January. Napoli were among those who made a concrete permanent approach during the summer and were rejected without hesitation.
Juventus’s position is clear, deliberate, and non-negotiable: Licina will not be sold this winter, will not be released on a different loan, and will return to the Continassa in June. The loan to Cremonese has no purchase option — a structural protection inserted precisely to prevent the kind of situation that arises when a player’s performance explodes mid-season and a competing club attempts to exercise a clause that was originally designed for a more modest scenario. There is no clause. There is no exit. The plan is June 2027. Until then, Cremonese — and the entire Italian football world — will watch him grow.
