Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti unveiled his latest squad on Friday, with Andrea Colpani’s name in particular having caught the eye of Azzurri fans the world over.
Alongside fellow debutant Andrea Cambiaso of Juventus, Colpani was afforded a first-ever call-up at senior level, ahead of Italy’s upcoming meetings with Ukraine and Macedonia.
Just who, though, is the Monza star?
Colpani is a 24-year-old midfielder, who has enjoyed something of a breakout campaign in Serie A to date.
All told, across 11 appearances from his berth in the middle of the park, Colpani has notched an impressive tally of five goals and an assist, including goal contributions in three of his last four outings.
Even more eye-catching than the numbers, though, have been the nature of some of his goals, with the former Atalanta talent having made use of his cannon of a left foot to drive home several wonderful finishes.
Colpani’s stellar traits do not end there, with his attack-minded berth in Monza’s XI having also allowed the Brescia native to pull the strings in the final third, courtesy of defence-splitting passes and crosses alike.
The defensive side of his game could do with some work, but, in the case of Colpani being afforded a chance to impress with Italy over the coming weeks, the likes of Nicolo Barella and Manuel Locatelli will be ready to pick up the slack.
Recent transfer links with some of Serie A’s biggest clubs have come as little surprise, with Inter understood to be keeping a particularly close eye on the progress of the breakthrough talent.
Far from the finished product, Colpani is nevertheless a shrewd pick by Spalletti and the Italy coaching staff.
Should he be handed his Azzurri debut over the coming fortnight, expect the Monza man to make his impact felt.
Â
Â
Conor Laird | GIFN
