Domenico Berardi is the first player in Europe to reach double figures for goals and assists this season and Roberto Mancini will likely pick the Sassuolo star over Roma’s Nicolò Zaniolo to replace Federico Chiesa at the World Cup play-offs.
Chiesa suffered a season-ending knee injury in January and will sit out the Azzurri’s play-offs in March. Mancini’s men will face North Macedonia in the semi-finals on March 24 and could meet Portugal or Turkey in the Final.
Chiesa played a key role in Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph over the summer and the Juventus star will surely be missed for the upcoming play-offs. Mancini has a few options to replace the former Fiorentina man, but, as things stand, Berardi seems the favourite to replace Chiesa against North Macedonia.
The 27-year-old became the first player in Europe to reach double figures for goals and assists this season after delivering the final pass for Giacomo Raspadori’s opener against Inter yesterday.
Berardi was Italy’s starting right winger at the Euros, but Chiesa replaced him in the knock-out phases after scoring the decisive goal against Austria in the Round of 16. Berardi has six goals in 23 appearances with the Azzurri this term.
Italian media consider Nicolò Zaniolo as a candidate to replace Chiesa, but the Roma star may not be the man for the job. Zaniolo made his Azzurri debut under Mancini and although Mancio is an admirer of the 22-year old, Zaniolo has not been as consistent as Berardi this season.
The former Fiorentina and Inter starlet has scored four goals and delivered five assists in 28 appearances this term and has two goals in eight senior appearances with the Azzurri. Zaniolo is currently out of action due to a quadriceps injury but aside from his recent form, there is a tactical reason why Mancini may not consider him to replace Chiesa.
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“To me, his perfect role is attacking Mezzala, which is what he is doing,” Mancini said during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport in December.
“He can attack and defend well. Surely, he is not a winger, he can be devastating with central attacking.”
This means that Zaniolo may have a chance to play for the Azzurri only if Mancini switches to a 4-2-3-1 formation or in place of Marco Verratti or Nicolò Barella in a three-man midfield. As of today, there may not be a better player than Berardi to replace Chiesa in March.