With the start of a new Serie A campaign just around the corner, Stephen Kasiewicz suggests keeping an eye on five emerging Italian players for 2024-25.
Italy’s dismal European Championships prompted another concerted period of soul-searching about the Azzurri’s lack of emerging young players.
While Italian clubs still follow the long-established template of sending academy graduates to the lower tiers to gain experience, several promising players remain at clubs throughout Serie A.
Football Italia runs the rule over five players who will be aiming to take the next step in their careers in the 2024-2025 campaign.
Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus)
It could be a make-or-break campaign for the highly-rated midfielder after he served a seven-month ban for breaching betting regulations last season. Many questioned why Azzurri coach Luciano Spalletti chose him to play in Euro 2024 when the 23-year-old featured in just two league games following his ban.
Now the Piacenza-born man in the middle faces an arduous challenge to become a mainstay in Thiago Motta’s newly constructed midfield.
A passing virtuoso with the range to play in numerous midfield positions, the Italy international doesn’t lack ability, yet he has to show he has fully recovered from his unwanted spell on the sidelines.
Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta)
The most recent success story from La Dea’s famed youth academy is now on the verge of a call-up to the full Italy squad. It’s a testament to the Bergamo club’s commitment to developing players that the speedy left-back—who joined Atalanta at the age of 9—has progressed to the first team.
Gian Piero Gasperini will rely heavily on the home-grown defender again this term after a mightily impressive breakout season. Positionally adept, precise in the tackle and an expert crosser he was an integral part of Atalanta’s Europa League winning team.
Michael Kayode (Fiorentina)
The attack-minded right-back made huge strides in his first senior season at the Viola.
Capable of playing anywhere on the right-hand side, the 20-year-old’s tactical nous, rapid powers of recovery and forward dashes all marked him out as a name to remember. His excellent form in the 2023-2024 season inevitably attracted a horde of admirers from across Italy and beyond.
Whether Fiorentina decide to cash in on their prize asset before the transfer window closes remains unclear, but the former Juventus youth academy player will undoubtedly improve if he stays in Florence for a second top-flight campaign.
Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna)
Can the goalscoring attacking midfielder make the transition from squad member to irreplaceable regular? The 21-year-old Inter youth product certainly proved he can cut it at the highest level after claiming five goals in the Rossoblu’s memorable 2023-2024 campaign.
After a summer of significant departures, the Italian under-21 international must convince new Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano that he is worthy of a permanent starting place. A tenacious competitor with a proclivity for perfectly timed surges into the box, the ex-Reggina man has all the right characteristics to thrive again in Serie A this season.
Sebastiano Esposito (Empoli)
Now in his seventh loan spell from Inter, the attacker’s career is at a critical stage. The 22-year-old displayed glimpses of brilliance at Sampdoria in Serie B last season and returns to the Italian top flight for the first time since his brief breakthrough at the Nerazzurri five years ago.
While his talent is well known an extensive list of injuries have prevented the Italian under-21 from fulfilling his potential. When fit and healthy the striker has intermittently shown that he has everything needed to make it in Serie A. How he performs with the Tuscan underdogs will undoubtedly affect whether he stays at the highest level of football in Italy.