During Juventus‘ tumultuous summer transfer window, it was easy to lose track of some of the players moving in and out of the Vinovo training ground.  

A total of 11 players arrived in Turin, including a pair of midfielders on deadline day.  The first, Hernanes, has been the focus of many a fan’s ire this year after his uneven play cost the Bianconeri on several occasions.

The second, however, was more of a developmental project.  Mario Lemina turned 22 the day after Juve announced they had signed him on loan from Olympique Marseille.  The move included an option to buy the young Gabon international for €9.5 million.

A promising youngster, Lemina had been with Marseille the last three years and rapidly turned himself into one of the better young prospects in Ligue 1.  

Juve fans can be forgiven for not knowing too much about him, as circumstances beyond his control have kept him from the field for much of the season.  But regardless of the small sample size, it would behoove the Turin club to keep the youngster in the fold beyond this season.

Lemina arrived at the right time.  Juve were going through an injury crisis in midfield.  Two starters, Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira, were out until October with leg injuries.  Down to the likes of Simone Padoin to start in midfield, Lemina was a welcome presence.

He started his first game three weeks after his arrival and saw time in the next two, including two more starts.  It took him nearly a month after that to get his next game action, in what may have been his worst match of the year against Sassuolo.  After a three-minute Champions League cameo a week later, he was felled by a training-ground injury.

That injury kept him out of the lineup until last Wednesday, when he played his first game of 2016 as a substitute in the second leg of the Coppa Italia.

While short of game action, when he has played he’s done well for the most part.  According to WhoScored.com, he’s completed 91.7 percent of his passes for Juve this season, the third consecutive year that that number has increased.  On the defensive end, he’s averaged 2.3 tackles per game, a total that actually leads the team.

He’s also scored twice in his seven appearances, and both of those goals were both significant and well-taken.

The first came on September 26, when he was in the starting XI as a vastly underpowered Juve squad visited Napoli at the San Paolo.  Maurizio Sarri’s squad had dominated most of the game and taken a 2-0 lead through Gonzalo Higuain in the 62nd minute.  Seconds after the restart, Lemina made a smart run to the back post and slammed home a Paulo Dybala cross that had got past Roberto Pereyra.

The visitors couldn’t find an equalizer, but the consolation turned out to be massive.  As Juventus began their tear up the standings, that head-to-head win loomed large as a potential tiebreaker between them and Napoli.  Their 1-0 win over the Partenopei last month equalized that, but Lemina‘s goal ensured that the next two tiebreakers—head-to-head goal difference and head-to-head goals scored—would be equal as well.

Lemina‘s goal on Sunday against Atalanta was a thing of absolute beauty.  Coming on as a sub for the second consecutive game, the Gabonese got the ball in space in the 86th minute and edged forward.  With a sudden burst, he moved past Gabriel Paletta with a quick step-over and Rafael Toloi with a deft toe-poke before driving the ball past Marco Sportiello in goal to cement the 2-0 win and keep Juve three points up at the top.

It was a moment of quality for a player who had been in danger of getting marginalized because of his absence.  Indeed, he was probably only on the field because Stefano Sturaro was unavailable due to a toe injury.  

With Hernanes, Sturaro, Pereyra and perhaps Kwadwo Asamoah in the rotation ahead of him, Lemina needed a chance to make a statement on Sunday, and make one he did.

His work this season has produced a small portfolio so far, but there’s enough in it to say that Lemina deserves to stay in Turin.  His passing and defensive numbers are top level and have either been consistent or on the up throughout his young career.  His dribbling ability was on full display on Sunday, and if he can turn the finishing touch he’s shown this year into something consistent, the Bianconeri could have a baby Arturo Vidal on their hands.

There’s no way to overstate how important Vidal was to Juve‘s resurrection from back-to-back seventh-place finishes to four-time defending champions and European runners-up.  He was the heart and soul of the team.  He ran hard, he created chances, he was a defensive roadblock in midfield and he scored huge goals.  During his time at Juventus, he turned into the most complete player in the game.

Juve did well to fill his place when he left for Bayern Munich this summer by signing Khedira, but it’s nigh on impossible to fully replace a player like Vidal so immediately.  But if Lemina continues to develop, the Serie A champions may have a player that could at least come very close to doing so.  If Paul Pogba were to leave the team this summer, the Gabon international could be even more important.

Lemina certainly has some aspects of his game that he can iron out.  His reading of the game and feel for passing lanes definitely needs improvement—that is the only statistic of his that has actually dropped as his career has gone on.

His discipline could also use work.  He’s received three bookings in 383 Serie A minutes, and was booked against Inter Milan as well.  

In the October loss to Sassuolo it was Lemina who conceded the free kick that provided the game’s only goal—getting booked in the process—and he could have got himself sent off shortly after when he kicked the ball away after being called for another foul.

Of course, a little indiscipline was a hallmark of Vidal’s game as well.  If Lemina learns to harness his aggression, it could go a long way toward completing his development.

Even though Lemina‘s body of work is small, it should be enough to convince Juve‘s front office that keeping him around will be in the best interests of the club.  

If he gets even more game time in the next two months—Juve must decide by the last day of April in order to lock in the €9.5 million price—he could make the decision a no-brainer.

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