Nov 11

Nov 11 The Best Young Italian Footballers

The Youth of today - Who are Italy’s best young football players?

In this series, Charlie Rowan celebrates up-and-coming European football talent under 23 with unrivalled potential, country by country.

We have so far looked at the best young English players, the top talent from Spain, the pedigree of French youth, and some wonderful German and Portuguese future stars and in this piece we focus on some fantastic Italian wonderkids.

Italy - a true footballing nation

Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the World Cup, having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) and appearing in two other finals (1970, 1994).

The country lives and breathes football, with 64 Football stadiums across Italy to prove it.

But after failing to even qualify for the 2018 tournament, the golden generation of Italian players seemed to have moved on, but then redeemed themselves by winning Euro 2020…. And then failed to qualify for World Cup 2022!

But what the Azzurri need is rejuvenation. Manager Roberto Mancini is building a national team full of young stars. The players among the next generation of Italian talent are ready to prove themselves as gems.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean are young stars growing into world-beaters. But these are names that are already dominating headlines.

We all know Italy’s greatest footballers, but who are the up-and-coming young Italian players that are lesser-known, with limitless potential?

Updated for 2022-23 - The best young Italian footballers

Lorenzo Lucca

Lorenzo Lucca is a forward of enormous stature.

He is a two-meter tall, athletic attacker who prefers to can play equally as well either with his back to the defence or by opening up the defence with runs from behind. He moves intelligently and has a rather slender build so is agile but still extremely strong.

Lucca, a striker born this millennium, has risen to prominence this season with AC Pisa, a team that is now playing at the top of Serie B. Since coming to Pisa from Palermo of Serie D, he has proven to be worth every cent of his expensive €2.1 million price tag - which is a large fee for an Italian second-division side.

Lucca is a player who thrives in a team that focuses on transitional play rather than controlling possession, but he needs to work on his link-up play to improve on combinations and movement between the lines, which would make Lucca the complete forward. Lucca is very aggressive and direct, and his running with the ball helps to advance his team up the pitch from deeper positions.

Nicola Rovella

Nicola Rovella is a small yet determined deep-lying midfielder, Rovella might be small in height but an extremely agile and tenacious player.

His pace and his technical ball skills are his greatest assets right now. He can be likened to a Gennaro Gattuso mould of midfielder or Marco Verratti in terms of a player still active. He is extremely press resistant being able to pick out teammates while under pressure while equally being able to dribble his way out of an opposition press.

Rovella shun as he broke into Genoa’s team last term and it did not take long for giants of Italy Juventus to swoop in to secure his services however he will continue his development on loan at his boyhood club for the time being. If the youngster can bulk up over the next few years of his development and cover space more efficiently, he could become a midfield general in Turin within a few years and likely a regular for the Azzurri.

Fabio Miretti

Another Juventus youngster on the list is Fabio Miretti who is an exciting creative midfielder. Miretti has already made his UEFA Champions League and Serie A debut for the Bianconeri which is indicative of his quality and maturity in his game at such a young age.

In possession, Miretti plays with outstanding precision and directness, and when not in control, he works tirelessly and tenaciously to win possession. He is also versatile being able to efficiently fill a variety of midfield roles.

He also has a wide passing range. He can perform a variety of passes at differing ranges and even audaciously performs trivela passes to highlight the lengths of his technical ability. He has also shown composure when presented with opportunities in front of goal, one to look out for!

Wilfred Gnonto

The 18-year-old is an explosive striker, a typical number nine that threatens the space behind opposition defences with his lightning pace as well as impressive dribbling qualities to beat his man. He spent his youth career with Inter Milan before moving to FC Zurich and playing top-flight football in Switzerland where has impressed and bulked up most importantly.

Gnonto’s form and potential led to Leeds’ Jesse Marsch swooping to secure his signature on summer deadline day. The young Italian’s intelligent movement will almost certainly translate to the Premier League with the quality of defenders being at such a high level that forwards must always be one step ahead in order to be presented with regular opportunities.

Best young Italian footballers - Previous candidates from 2020-21

Luca Pellegrini

21-year-old Luca Pellegrini is an exciting young star. The Juventus left-back - who is on loan at Genoa - signed for the old lady for a hefty fee of €22M in summer 2019. Yes, it is a lot of money - but it’s a shrewd investment for the future, nonetheless. It is an investment in a physically powerful and technically gifted ace, who is also renowned for his innate quality, stamina, consistency, and work-rate.

Pellegrini is a player with incredible pace. He has a desire to take players on, and the ability to deliver good crosses. And he has a tendency to create quality chances - last season, on loan at Cagliari, he created 1.04 chances per 90 minutes, compared to the league’s average for a left-back of 0.82. He is also an assisting sensation - at Cagliari, he racked up 5 assists in 24 games (0.24 per 90).

Pellegrini is a stunning dribbler of the ball - at Isolani, he made 2.31 dribbles per 90, an astounding feat compared to Alex Sandro’s 2.11 per 90. And of those 2.31, 1.36 were successful. The former Roma prodigy uses his pace, agility and skills to beat his man, and then he often fires a low cross into the box.

The Rome-born player has expressed his potential enough to have earned an international cap in November. The rising talent has caught the eye of his parent club as well - the Old Lady have been reportedly interested in recalling Pellegrini after his impressive performances this season and last season in the Serie A. He is a future star.

Daniel Maldini

Italy has another Maldini. Paolo’s son, Daniel Maldini, has the potential to be special.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has risen through the AC Milan youth ranks to the first team. And despite only having played 5 senior league games, he looks set to take over his father’s legacy. Maldini is a playmaker; his agility and technical ability help him to create space and he uses his work rate and off the ball movement to receive the ball.

The right-footed starlet is a creative maestro. Making his first-team debut in February 2020, Maldini is magnificent at passing and breaking the lines. Despite playing very little in the league this season, the young Rossoneri talent has made 45 passes per 90 minutes - and his talent on the ball is only further outlined with 92.3% passing accuracy.

The Milan-born star is also fabulous at dribbling. Acute, sharp and agile, Maldini has conquered breaking the opposition’s defence; he has racked up 6.92 successful dribbles per 90 minutes during the 20/21 league campaign. To put that into context, Napoli talisman Dries Mertens has only achieved 2.1 successful dribbles per 90 this season.

Defending may not be a strong point for an attacking midfielder but Maldini doesn’t shy away. He works relentlessly and is a well-rounded team player. He uses his intelligence and his ability to read the game in these defensive situations as well, and he is always anticipating the next step of his opponent well and cutting passing lines wisely.

Operating on both wings and centrally, the youngster is versatile. Maldini’s level of maturity also says a lot given the extra expectations at Milan because of his surname. But he seems unfazed by it.

The whizzkid has also made a mark on his international career by playing for both the u18s and u19s for the Azzuri.

He will go on to big things.

Nicolo Zaniolo

Tipped as AS Roma’s next Francesco Totti, Nicolo Zaniolo is one of the most potent future stars in Europe. What makes the 21-year-old attacking midfielder so special is his ability to break the opposition’s backline using his dribbling ability. He is deceptive on the ball and is very dangerous when played in behind.

Zaniolo plays his trade on both the wings and attacking midfield. The stats show his fantastic on-the-ball quality. With 4.53 dribble attempts per 90 minutes, compared to Lorenzo Insigne’s 3.10, the Massa-born wonderkid is very keen to take players on and express his creativity. And he is very good at doing so - 2.67 of those dribbles per 90 are successful. He often unbalances defenders and slithers out of tight spaces, and there are certainly sparks of Totti to be seen in Zaniolo.

His play is flair-infused, quick and he also has the composure to finish. Last season he had a shot accuracy rate of 45.7%, which is outstanding compared to his striker teammate Edin Dzeko’s 38.5%. Zaniolo scored six league goals last season, while he also impressed in the Europa League.

The Italian starlet has attracted interest over the past year from some top clubs, with Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus among others. But after signing a 5-year-contract in 2019, i Giallorossi have seemingly managed to retain Zaniolo for the foreseeable future.

Injury problems have kept him out for the majority of the past two seasons, and his development has suffered as a result. But after setting the past few Serie A campaigns alight, he looks destined for big things.

After conquering youth International level, Zaniolo has been capped for gli Azzuri over 7 times and has raised manager Mancini’s eyebrows:

“He’s a physically strong player, technically very gifted, he has a great left foot. I think he can become an extraordinary player if he continues to be serious, train seriously, to lead an athlete’s life.”

Sebastiano Esposito

A product of Inter Milan’s famed academy, Sebastiano Esposito is a teenage gem. Lethal at dribbling, intelligent off the ball, and threatening at finishing, the striker has magnificent innate ability. The 18-year-old advanced forward is yet to fully establish himself for i Nerrazurri, however, he has played 7 league games for the superclub. And although he hasn’t been given a lot of chances at his clubs, he has impressed and given us glimpses of what is to come.

Currently on loan at Venezia, Esposito relishes international duty - he has racked up 25 goals in 38 games at youth level and he is certainly on the radar of Mancini and his scouts.

Esposito is a well-rounded team player and has developed great communication with his attacking teammates and he understands how to utilize their movements. Not only has he fantastic flair and intelligent positioning, but Esposito is also very mature in motion, despite his lack of experience.

His technique and passing ability are also marvellous. He attempted 22.3 passes in the opposition half per 90 minutes, compared to the average for a forward of 17.3. And of these attempted passes, the 1.86-metre tall whizzkid achieved a passing accuracy here of 75.4% - he is seemingly a complete striker. But it is his thirst for dribbling that is so impressive. Making 2.37 dribbles every 90, Esposito’s ball control and agility is strong for someone of his large frame.

The sporting director at Venezia appreciates the young prodigy’s ability: