Filip Djuričić's Second Youth at Sassuolo

When Filip Djuričić arrived at southern Italian club Benevento in January 2018, it seemed that his career was at the crossroads.

It wasn't long ago that Djuričić was on the cusp of signing for Manchester United, only for work permit issues to scupper the deal as the young Serb would have been forced to join United's fleet of loanees. He ended up joining Heerenveen, where he impressed enough for Benfica to fork out €6 million for him in 2013. However, he failed to convince manager Jorge Jesus, and was subsequently loaned out to Mainz, Anderlecht and Anderlecht, before joining Sampdoria on a permanent deal in 2017.

The Serbian's development continued to plateau in Liguria, and came as little surprise when Sampdoria decided to loan him out to relegation dwellers Benevento midway through the 2017/18 season. What might have been seen as a low point in Djuričić’s career back then can now be looked at as a blessing in disguise; It was at the Stregoni where he met Roberto De Zerbi, his current coach at Sassuolo.

“I don’t know what would have happened to my career if I hadn’t met De Zerbi,” Djuričić told La Gazzetta dello Sport in October. “De Zerbi is the best coach I have ever had; he sees things differently to the others. The peace at Sassuolo helps me a lot. They are a serious and organized club.”