Juventus, midfield in pieces: the free-agent market and the Owusu solution, the little Davids raised in Vinovo

With Locatelli and Thuram out for months, and with McKennie and Sarr carrying knocks, Spalletti are left with only Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz

Juventus' midfield has been left in tatters at the start of the league campaign, with last season's two first-choice players now facing lengthy spells on the sidelines through injury. Manuel Locatelli (lateral meniscus) will be out for between three and six months, while Khephren Thuram (patellofemoral syndrome) will not return before January. Weston McKennie and Pape Sarr have also picked up muscle problems, less serious but still troublesome and a headache for Luciano Spalletti, who is left with only Teun Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz as central midfielders.

The free agents

So Juventus could now consider a move into the free-agent market, where there are plenty of options, including some very interesting ones.

For example, among the free-agent midfielders there is Marcelo Brozović, the former Inter player now available after his spell with Al-Nassr ended. Also still on the market is Ismael Bennacer, formerly of AC Milan. Other players still without a club include the Portuguese Renato Sanches and former Juventus player Roberto Pereyra.

Internal solution: Owusu

One internal solution stands out: the permanent promotion to the first team of Augusto Seedorf Owusu, born in 2005, who also featured in Luciano Spalletti's side's summer friendlies. Owusu is one of the club's own assets, developed in-house since childhood at Vinovo, apart from a loan spell at Reggiana during his Primavera days, before moving on to the Next Gen and Continassa.

A box-to-box central midfielder, more mezzala than holding player, Owusu can break up play and drive forward. Despite being called 'Seedorf', he has technical and physical traits closer to another Dutchman who made Juventus history: Edgar Davids. Until the January transfer window, he could offer Spalletti a way to fill the gap while they wait for the market to reopen.