I'm the Englishman starring in a Serie A title race with hopes of a World Cup call

In recent seasons, Serie A has become the ideal place for British names to give their careers a reboot following challenges faced at their Premier League homes. 

The move to Italy has seen rebirths for the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fikayo Tomori, who have both earned England recognition as a result, as well as Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay. With the latter faring so well, his performances were rewarded with a Ballon d'Or nomination. 

The latest player who's hoping his Serie A rub will put him in the spotlight is Lloyd Kelly, who's enjoying life at Juventus following his move to Turin last January. 

• DAZN is the new home for Italy's top flight , where you can watch every match - that's 380 games - live across the campaign. 

The full-back's move to Turin raised some eyebrows last winter. Having signed for Newcastle at the start of last season, Kelly had struggled to get regular starts under Eddie Howe - a manager he'd previously played under at Bournemouth - but had been tracked by Juventus for 18 months and the Italian's swooped to sign the defender, initially on a loan deal until the end of the campaign. 

“I’d just finished training,” Kelly told Mirror.co.uk this week about the moment he heard news of the deal. 

“I got home and I had a phone call. My agent said, ‘Would you go to Juventus?’

“Straight away, it was a yes. A no-brainer. It was mostly disbelief and shock because obviously, I didn’t expect it. It came out of nowhere.

“It didn’t take me long to pack! I packed one backpack! I didn’t have any clothes for the first, I’d say, week - until I managed to get out and get some clothes from a sports store.”

It proved to be a decision worthy of the excitement, as Kelly did enough to impress boss Igor Tudor during the second half of last season, and his move was made permanent in the summer. 

This season, Kelly has not only been an ever-present for The Old Lady, but received instant cult hero status when netting his first goals for the club. He scored in Juventus' dramatic 4-3 derby d'Italia win over Inter, before netting a stoppage-time equaliser in the crazy 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. 

His impact and newly assured performances at the back have sparked calls for a possible England call-up for the player who's represented the Three Lions at Under-21 level. 

He faces stiff competition in the backline, especially with Thomas Tuchel already strictly sticking to the same group of players for his October camp as he had the previous month, but it has not put off Kelly. 

“It would be the biggest achievement of my career so far," he admitted. 

“Especially this year. The World Cup is the pinnacle of football. 

“Of course, it is going to be difficult to be a part of that. There’s only a certain number of spaces in the squad and everyone is going to be thinking the same thing - how important this year is.

“The England manager’s selection so far has been quite open in the sense that he is not afraid to bring in new players. 

"Now it's about working hard to give myself a chance.”



He'll get another chance to prove how hard he's working when Juventus takes on Milan on Sunday, in what is Serie A's headline act as the league's two most successful teams go head-to-head. Getty

Milan tops the table, having won their last four, including last weekend's statement victory over champions Napoli, with Juventus a point behind them. They go into the game still unbeaten in the league and remain in the conversation as title challengers.

“It’s been a good start to the season,” Kelly told Darren Lewis. 

“I set myself expectations before it started, and I think so far I’ve done all right. If you look at the players this club has had - Bonucci, Chiellini - you can only learn from them. Not to mention the players before that.

“The defensive side of the game in Italy has always been there. It's one of the things that stands out to many people who watch and analyse football.

“So I want to keep learning from these players and coaches, to adapt and progress my game in defensive areas.”

That adaptation and learning seem to have already had an impact on the defender. If he continues to perform in the way he has started the campaign, Thomas Tuchel may need another visit to Italy during World Cup year. 

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