Stephy Mavididi scored in his third consecutive game for Juventus u23s at the weekend, as he starts to find his feet in Italy.

Goalscoring form returning

It’s fair to say that after a strong pre-season with Arsenal and Juventus, Mavididi had a slow start to the competitive action with his new club. In his first 25 appearances for the Juventus u23s, the striker scored four goals and provided one assist, and even started to drop out of the starting eleven.

However, things have finally started to turn around in the last fortnight. Getting back into the starting lineup on February 13th, Mavididi took advantage of his opportunity with a goal against Arezzo. He kept his place for the next match against Siena and scored again, before adding a third in three games against Lucchese on Sunday.

You can watch that third goal from 1:16 in the below highlights video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e581xhd2GOQ

Mavididi’s most impressive goal was the one against Siena though, at the end of an eye-catching solo run. The player uploaded a clip of the goal to his Instagram page.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuEmzSUB9GZ/

Part of the reason for Mavididi’s sudden upturn in form is seemingly the arrival of Benjamin Mokulu Tembe in the side. The pair have formed a strike partnership in recent games, giving the former Arsenal youngster someone to play off.

Mavididi spoke to the media about his transfer to Juventus recently, click ‘Next’ to read what he said

Mavididi on his transfer to Italy

Mavididi swapped Arsenal for Juventus over the summer, though in reality, he knew he was swapping one academy for another. Both clubs have top sides with bags of talent up front, and it’s no surprise a 20-year-old would find it difficult to break into either first team.

There are advantages to playing in the Juventus u23s over Arsenal’s though. A change of scenery can help to push a stalling career forward, and learning from a new set of coaches can give you a new perspective. Plus, Juventus’ B team play against senior players in Serie C, rather than in an u23 league.

In addition, Mavididi explains that the chance to get up close to Ronaldo was too good to pass up.

“The motivation to play with one of my idols, one of the greatest ever. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to train with him,” Mavididi told Wednesday’s edition of The Independent.

“It’s the mentality [with Ronaldo], how he approaches things, how professional he is, how he manages his body. Watching him, I just try and take in as much as I can from him.”

Mavididi has seen other young Arsenal stars moving abroad recently too, and he admits they’ve inspired each other to make bold moves.

“Some players like Chris Willock (helped inspire him to make the decision), in Portugal at Benfica,” he said. “When I got the call from Juventus, he was one of the first players I called, asking him what it was like living away from home, adapting.

“Reiss Nelson out in Germany [with Hoffenheim] as well. This generation are becoming braver to step abroad. Of course, we follow each other’s games, if I score, or he scores, we’ll post messages, we always keep in touch.”

Despite playing for the u23s, Mavididi has been making friends with some of the senior stars in Turin as well.

“I remember in my first week, one of the coaches was talking,” Mavididi recalls. “I turned to Emre Can and said, ‘do you understand?’ He was like, ‘no.’ From then we’ve chatted, everybody has been friendly, it’s been really good.”