5 young players in the Italy squad set to transform the Azzurri

#2 Roberto Gagliardini – Inter

Roberto Gagliardini has come along leaps and bounds in the last few years

It has been a rollercoaster season for Roberto Gagliardini, one of a number in the squad awaiting their full debuts. The 22-year-old midfielder, who operates in a central role and relies on his fitness and positional sense perhaps more than he does on technique, joined Inter from Atalanta, where he came through as a player, in January.

Gagliardini excels at the highest level nowadays, having come through in Bergamo. To some, signing for Inter was not the step up it may have been a few years ago, given how they and Atalanta are still battling it out for the Champions League and Europa League places. But he did so on a loan deal with an obligation to buy in the summer of 2018.

Having made his full debut in 2013, Gagliardini has not yet played 20 or more games for any one team, a testament to just how much he has improved on his game in a short space of time.

Operating in a box-to-box role, he is at his best when he has as a partner, and could strike up an excellent partnership with Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti in years to come.