Manuel Locatelli is confident Italy “will have our say” against Spain in the European Under-21 Championship semi-final and urges Gianluigi Donnarumma to stay at Milan.
The Azzurrini beat Germany 1-0 last night to reach the semi-finals, where they’ll face Spain on Tuesday evening, but Domenico Berardi and Andrea Conti are suspended.
Manuel Locatelli is confident Italy “will have our say” against Spain in the European Under-21 Championship semi-final and urges Gianluigi Donnarumma to stay at Milan.
The Azzurrini beat Germany 1-0 last night to reach the semi-finals, where they’ll face Spain on Tuesday evening, but Domenico Berardi and Andrea Conti are suspended.
“It was a slip-up against the Czech Republic, but we looked each other in the eye and reacted with a great performance,” said Locatelli in his Press conference.
“The worst thing was being told we were spoilt, as that had nothing to do with it and only we know what happens in the locker room. Now we’ve got an important semi-final and need to focus only on that.
“We can beat Spain and we must. They are a truly great squad, but we will have our say. They pass the ball around well, but we have to focus on our own characteristics. No game is to be taken for granted, we are capable of winning and hope to do so.”
It will be a reunion for Locatelli with his former Milan teammate Gerard Deulofeu, who spent the last six months on loan at San Siro.
“He was fundamental for Milan, is making the difference for Spain too and is an important player. We’ll try our best to stop him, seeing as we know him fairly well.”
The last week has been dominated by Donnarumma’s decision to reject a new Milan contract, which he could well be reconsidering according to the latest reports.
“As well as being a great player, Gigio is also a great person,” continued midfielder Locatelli.
“He is able to deal with everything, is very mature and I hope he makes the best choice. Obviously, I’d love him to stay at Milan.”