Italy squad: 10 players from outside Serie A, with Leoni, Palestra and others still to come

Italy squad: 10 players from outside Serie A, with Leoni, Palestra and others still to come Roberto Mancini’s 34-man Italy squad includes ten players from outside Serie A, with more expected to join in the future, including Giovanni Leoni and Marco Palestra. Mancini’s Italy squad for upcoming Nations League games against Belgium, France, and Turkey includes an unprecedented ten players from outside Serie A. AL RAYYAN, QATAR – JANUARY 25: Roberto Mancini, Head Coach of Saudi Arabia reacts during the AFC Asian Cup Group F match between Saudi Arabia and Thailand at Education City Stadium on January 25, 2024 in Al Rayyan, Qatar. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) The biggest contingent comes from the Premier League, with captain Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Matteo Ruggeri (Aston Villa), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace) and Sandro Tonali (Tottenham). Issa Doumbia, a former Venezia midfielder, plays for Sporting CP in Portugal; Diego Coppola is under contract with Ligue 1 side Paris FC, while Samuele Inacio and Mohamed Ali Zoma come from Germany and play for Borussia Dortmund and Nuremberg (second division), respectively. NUREMBERG, GERMANY – AUGUST 09: Mohamed Ali Zoma of Nürnberg celebartes scoring the opening goal during the 2. Bundesliga 2026/27 match between 1. FC Nürnberg and SG Dynamo Dresden at Max-Morlock-Stadion on August 09, 2026 in Nuremberg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) Wednesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport focuses on these ten players, giving their presence in the Italy squad a double meaning. On the one hand, more Italian players have left Serie A in recent years, mostly moving to the Premier League. On the other hand, Mancini has been trying, as he did in the past, to identify suitable players with dual citizenship who suit his style of play. Back in 2023, he gave Argentine-born Mateo Retegui his Italy debut, and this time he’s called up Zoma, a 22-year-old winger born in Merate, Italy, whose mother is from Côte d’Ivoire. “We must find a solution, and the solution is to watch and quickly pick players like Zoma or the others who have dual passports and could have been lost,” Mancini said in his press conference on Monday. “We must find players with technical abilities who, in a short time, can become important. Zoma is in the 2.Bundesliga, but the level is high there. He’s doing well, and we hope he continues.” Michael Kayode Italy Press Conference Kayode is also among the Italian players with dual citizenship, but the Brentford defender has already represented Italy at a youth level, even scoring the winning goal in the 2023 U19 Euro Final against Portugal. “I went through all the youth teams here,” Kayode said at a press conference on Tuesday. “Nigeria approached me, but I never thought about changing national teams.” The number of players coming from outside Serie A might improve soon, as Gazzetta points out. It is no secret that Liverpool’s Leoni and Chelsea’s Palestra are among those Mancini has monitored, and the same is true of Fabio Chiarodia (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Luca Reggiani and Filippo Mané (Borussia Dortmund), and Luca Koleosho (Paris FC). Chiarodia, Reggiani and Koleosho have been called up to the Italy U21 squad for this international break, while Leoni and Palestra are recovering from injuries. Leoni was called up to the Italy national team for the first time a year ago, but suffered a cruciate ligament injury a few weeks later on his Liverpool debut and is expected to resume training with the Reds during the break.