Mattia Perin has routinely said in the past that playing a part-time role at Juventus is something that matters more to him than being the full-time starter at pretty much any of the other clubs in Italy. It’s why, even after such a lengthy stay in Turin, there hasn’t appeared to be a temptation for him to seek first team football elsewhere, even if it has meant his place in the Italian national team has essentially vanished as a result.
But it appears that there could very well be an understandable
temptation come the new year.
According to multiple reports in Italy over the last couple of days, Genoa are set to make a serious push to bring the 33-year-old Perin back to the Luigi Ferraris during the January transfer window. Perin is believed to be Genoa’s top target to upgrade their situation in goal, which is currently manned by former Juve prospect and the previously much-hyped Nicola Leali. Genoa are believed to be set to make new contacts with Juventus in the next few days as they try to understand what it might take financially to bring Perin back to the club he grew up at and made his professional debut with at the tender age of 17.
Perin signed a contract extension with Juventus through 2027 back in October 2024.
As you might expect, Perin heading back to Genoa would kick off a merry-go-round of goalkeepers in Serie A (and potentially) elsewhere as clubs look to fill the void left by somebody who left in-season. Juve have already been linked to Leali, Lazio backup Christos Mandas and a few other names if the chance of Perin leaving becomes a reality.
But, of course, it all depends on Perin himself and if he decides if this is the kind of step in his career he wants to take.
You have to believe that Genoa would be one of the few clubs currently in Italy’s top flight in which he could potentially decide to leave Juventus for simply because of his past there. He’s already returned to the club since his initial move to Juventus a decade ago. He’s also turned down other opportunities from bigger clubs in Italy to remain at Juventus. But Genoa is Genoa, and Perin is clearly somebody who would potentially jump at the chance to help his boyhood club — especially during a season in which they’re likely to be in some sort of relegation fight after such a tough start that forced an early managerial change.
The difficult part in all of this is just what Juventus would do if Perin does choose to return to Genoa in January. It’s not like they’re going to be able to spend a lot on a backup to Michele Di Gregorio, and that means that options will be even limited than they probably already are. It would be tough to replace somebody like Perin who has proven to be one of the few true leaders that this current roster has.
