15 December 2016
Stefano Sturaro has today committed his long-term future to Juventus, renewing his contract for another five years which will keep him with the club until at least 2021.
Bursting onto the scene with a series of late season performances in 2014/15, natural born fighter Stefano Sturaro has since gone on to make 56 appearances in all competitions, consolidating his position as a key squad player over the subsequent two campaigns, winning consecutive league and cup doubles along the way.
A twisted knee while on international duty at the European Championships in July saw Sturaro miss the first steps of Juventus’ title defence this time around, but a string of typically combative and energetic displays in midfield in the past month or so have demonstrated that the Italian is starting to rediscover his best form.
The 23-year-old has been predominantly deployed as an impact substitute in his time in black and white and one particular emergence from the bench in February of this year will surely go down as one of the great moments of 2016 at Juventus Stadium.
We’re speaking of course about his spine-tingling Champions League strike – his third goal for the club – against Bayern Munich to level the scores at 2-2 on the night. The drive to reach the ball, the deft touch required to turn it home and the passionate celebration afterwards captured everything that is admired about Stefano in a matter of seconds.
And it is that same athleticism, commitment to the cause and ability to rise to the big occasion – see also Juventus vs. Real Madrid in the UCL semi-finals one year previously – that lies behind the club’s decision to tie one of Italy’s brightest young midfield talents down for the foreseeable future.
