The 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament begins next week in Slovakia. The tournament in its previous editions has thrown up several stars who first gained prominence during this tournament. Italy are in a difficult group with Spain, Romania and hosts Slovakia. That being said, there is enough talent in the squad for them to do well. Here, we look at 5 of their players you should watch out for.
5. Matteo Ruggeri โ Matteo Ruggeri is 22 and has made 30 appearances in the Serie A this season for Atalanta. He is a left wing-back with a good cross in his locker. He has already been called up to the senior team before.
4. Wilfried Gnonto โ His first season in the Premier League was a remarkable one but his stock has fallen a little. Still only 21, the attacker contributed to 15 goals as Leeds won the Championship.
3. Tommaso Baldanzi โ An interesting midfielder currently playing backup to Paulo Dybala at Roma. A good playmaker, this could be the tournament where Baldanzi makes headlines.
2. Michael Kayode โ Perhaps presently the best player on this list, Kayodeโs loan move from Fiorentina to Brentford recently became permanent. It will shock nobody if the right-back moves to a bigger club within a year.
1. Cesare Casadei โ A powerful box-to-box midfield, Casadei came up as a highly-rated youth prospect. He didnโt make the greatest impact in England but a move back to Italy with Torino has worked out well so far. In the 2023 U20 World Cup, he won both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards.
Kaulik Mitra I GIFN
