Is Bafana Bafana target Joel Untersee headed back to Italian Serie B?

National team target Joel Untersee could be headed back to the Italian Serie B with Brescia this season.

Swiss junior international Untersee‚ who is reportedly interested in turning out for Bafana Bafana‚ has found his path to the first team at Italian giants Juventus blocked by the quality of the fullbacks ahead of him.

The 23-year-old has drawn no shortage of interest from across Europe‚ but according to reports in Italy has his heart set on a return to Brescia if he is told by Juventus that they do not see regular Serie A action for him this season.

Untersee made 39 appearances for Brescia last season during a successful loan spell in which he became a key figure at the club.

Untersee‚ who was born in Roodeport‚ has represented Switzerland at every level of junior football from Under-15 to the Under-21s‚ though that has not yet been translated into a senior national team appearance.

He joined the Juventus youth academy in 2011 and has been part of the pre-season squads for the first teams on a number of occasions since‚ but has so far only been loaned out.

He spent almost three seasons with Lichtenstein club Vaduz‚ who actually play in the Swiss league‚ and then at Brescia.

SAFA last year expressed their desire to cast their net wider in the hunt for fresh talent for the national team‚ which led to the call-up for Dutch-born Lars Veldwijk.

Untersee falls under that bracket‚ and it was reported that he had given positive feedback to national team coach Stuart Baxter at a recent meeting between the two in Europe to discuss his international future.

- TimesLIVE