Davide Frattesi thanks Roberto Mancini for ‘having faith’ in him after the first senior Italy goal in the Nations League against the Netherlands and comments on his future at club level too.
Federico Dimarco had opened the scoring after just six minutes and was followed by Frattesi to make it 2-0, though a second half fightback resulted in a final 3-2 score.
“They created a few problems for us by flicking on long balls, but we did well to remain solid,” Frattesi told RAI Sport.
Roberto Mancini made seven changes to the starting XI after the 2-1 defeat to Spain and the Sassuolo midfielder was one of the only players to retain his place.
He also got a goal after a long VAR check for potential handball, which felt a little worrying after his strike against Spain was disallowed by VAR for a marginal offside position.
“I felt that Mancini had faith in me and I hope that I managed to repay him in the best way possible.”
It was Frattesi’s first goal for Italy at senior level at the sixth cap.
This may well increase his price-tag on the transfer market, having already irritated Sassuolo by refusing to move abroad to the Premier League, so he remains a target for Inter, Juventus, Milan, Napoli and his hometown club Roma.
However, he assures that the media attention will not be an issue.
“After last summer, I got a bit more used to it, so I feel more relaxed this time around.”