Italy national team coach Luciano Spalletti has confirmed that he’s keeping tabs on two Super Eagles-eligible players ahead of the 2024 European Championship.
Apart from Tottenham Hotspur fullback Destiny Udogie, two other youngsters of Nigerian descent in the shape of Fiorentina defender Michael Kayode and Luca Koleosho could be in contention to represent the reigning European champions at next year’s tournament in Germany.
Kayode and Koleosho are provisionally cap-tied to the four-time world champions and were members of the Italy squad that won the 2023 European U19 Championship, with the former netting the game-winning goal in the showpiece with Portugal.
The Fiorentina starlet is eligible to represent the Super Eagles through his parents while Koleosho qualifies to play international football for his country of birth United States, Nigeria through his father, as well as Italy and Canada by virtue of being born to an Italian-Canadian mother.
Kayode was able to take advantage of the injury suffered by Dodô to break into the first team of Fiorentina, making fourteen appearances in all competitions this term, while Koleosho has sparkled on the left wing for Burnley with his pace and trickery.
On the players being considered to strengthen Italy’s squad for the European Championship, Spalletti said: “There are some strong young people that we are following carefully, even far from Italy.
“Kayode, the Fiorentina winger, I called him up but he got injured. Now let’s try to evaluate them directly, live.
“Luca Koleosho is another rather interesting profile”.
Kayode and Koleosho will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of West Ham’s Italian-Nigerian defender Angelo Ogbonna who was named in Italy squad for the 2012 and 2016 European Championship.
