Venezia may have dropped down to Serie B, but Gianluca Busio isn’t going anywhere.
The U.S. men’s national team midfielder signed a new contract at the club, despite its relegation, extending his stay through the 2024-25 campaign. In his first season in Italy, Busio, now 20, made 29 appearances (23 starts) in Serie A, and according to Venezia, his 1,944 minutes were the fourth most among players under 21 in the league. He scored one goal and had two assists in league play.
“I am really happy to sign a new contract here and I would like to thank everyone who made this possible. I really enjoyed my first year, the city is amazing and the fans are even better and they’re ready to support us in trying to make it back to Serie A,” Busio said in a statement. “Especially after getting relegated last year, I wanted to be part of the team that will fight for promotion and I am really excited for this year. There were offers and interest from other places but my heart is in Venice and I I really wanted to stay here and work for our goal and make the fans happy again.”
Busio heads up the growing American contingent at Venezia. He was joined last year by former FC Dallas midfielder Tanner Tessmann, and Philadelphia Union product Jack de Vries, who spent last season there on loan and played for Venezia’s U-19s but has since secured a permanent transfer to the club. Wisconsin-born forward Andrija Novakovich is the newest addition to “VeneziAmerica,” joining the club from fellow Serie B side Frosinone after scoring 19 goals there over the last three seasons.
What the lack of a transfer or loan to a top-flight club means for Busio’s World Cup outlook remains to be seen. He was with the U.S. as it polished off its World Cup berth in March, last playing in a 5–1 rout of Panama in the penultimate qualifier. He was not included, however, in the June squad that trained for two weeks and played two friendlies and two Concacaf Nations League matches. The U.S. is staging one more camp, in Europe in late September that includes friendlies against World Cup-bound Japan and Saudi Arabia, before Gregg Berhalter makes his final 26-man roster decisions.
Venezia begins its attempt to return to Serie A on Aug. 14, when it hosts Genoa in their season-opening match.
