England used to be a happy hunting ground for Italians. Paolo Di Canio’s scissor kick, Gianfranco Zola’s near-post flick directly from a corner, Roberto Di Matteo’s FA Cup rocket off the bar, Fabrizio Ravanelli’s rigatoni out and about for everyone to enjoy. Heady days. But with a couple of notable exceptions, it’s been a rough time for our Roman friends since the early-2000s, with Massimo Taibi through Alberto Aquilani to Patrick Cutrone all showing how it shouldn’t be done. But with Inter and Milan doing so well in last season’s Champions League, Serie A’s stock is high right now and Sandro Tonali’s impending arrival on Tyneside could usher in a new era of Italians on English shores.
Nicolò Barella and Federico Chiesa are perhaps the most talented of the current crop. The former is now being linked with Liverpool, but won’t come cheap. Inter want €80m, roughly £68m, with the player apparently open to the move. Why play in the Champions League when you can be Curtis Jones’ back up in the Europa?
