Football Italia

La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Radu Dragusin’s return to Juventus from Tottenham can’t be ruled out, but the Bianconeri need the green light from North London.

Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli confirmed on Saturday that the Bianconeri would be looking for a temporary replacement for the injured Gleison Bremer in the January transfer window.

Milan Skriniar, a former Inter defender now at PSG, and ex-Juventus centre-back Dragusin have emerged as the primary candidates for the Old Lady, but negotiations haven’t yet begun.

Dragusin has solid bond in Turin, but Juventus need Tottenham green light

The latest report from Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Dragusin still has a solid bond in Turin and would be open to listening to a Juventus proposal in January.

However, the Bianconeri are unlikely to consider a permanent transfer and would get the player on loan instead.

It remains to be seen if Spurs will agree to loan out the player in less than two months, so the Bianconeri are monitoring the market and looking for any possible opportunity.

With Gleison Bremer injured, Juventus are looking for a January reinforcement with options including Milan Skriniar from PSG, Tottenham’s Radu Dragusin and Empoli’s Ardian Ismajli.

Bremer had been a rock in the Bianconeri defence until he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, which will take approximately six months to heal from.

Since then, Juve have been leaking goals, conceding four against Inter and two with Parma, leading to suggestions they need a suitable replacement in the January transfer window.

Juventus candidates to replace Bremer

Calciomercato.com outline their options, noting that the ideal is former Inter centre-back Skriniar, who is currently struggling for playing time at Paris Saint-Germain.

However, on top of his refusal to leave Paris, the €8m per season salary and his fitness record are also concerns.

Dragusin is also not getting much time on the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur, with just six appearances in all competition so far this season.

The Romania international came up through the Juventus academy and was sold to Genoa for €9.7m, then six months later moved to Spurs for €25m plus bonuses.

Considering his issues getting into the Tottenham team, there could be a potential loan move to Turin in order to rediscover his form.

The most likely option is therefore Ismajli, who has impressed at Empoli this season and just turned 28 in September.

Napoli coach Antonio Conte is hoping to win the Scudetto with a third different Serie A club, but insists he also ‘got the maximum possible’ out of Tottenham Hotspur, who have gone downhill since he left.

The tactician is running away at the top of the Serie A table with Napoli after winning nine of his last 10 competitive games, drawing the other 0-0 away to Juventus.

He won the title at Juventus three years in a row from 2012 to 2014, then at Inter in 2021, along with a Premier League at Chelsea in 2017.

It was pointed out to Conte that perhaps the only club where he struggled to deliver was at Tottenham Hotspur, though he assured that was a coup of its own sort.

“I realise there are expectations, but if you go where there are difficulties…” he told DAZN.

“I think Tottenham did incredibly well, because they were ninth when I arrived and we got into the Champions League. The two years after I left, which was for personal reasons, they did not qualify for the Champions League.

“I think I achieved a lot there too. If people ask me for miracles, then I can speed them up and get the best out of the squad, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we can win. I think I got the maximum possible out of that Tottenham side.”

Conte points out Tottenham struggles after his departure

The Italian tactician was on the Spurs bench from November 2021 to March 2023, overseeing 41 victories, 12 draws and 23 defeats.

They reached the Carabao Cup semi-final in 2021-22 and were knocked out of the Champions League Round of 16 by Milan in March 2023.

At the time, he caused controversy among the Tottenham fans by pointing out the history of the club did not warrant ambitions much higher than that.

Now Conte is at Napoli and they started the season with a shock 3-0 defeat at Verona, but have not looked back since.

“For Napoli to win the title would be incredible, because we gave ourselves a three-year window. Napoli won two years ago, but Milan won three years ago and Juventus four. The difference is that those teams finished in the top four afterwards and we finished 10th, losing many players,” he continued.

“Miracles can happen, we can speed up the process, but the process still needs to be gone through.

“If we were to achieve our target of Europe, that would already be something special, so we’ve got to stay humble.”

Italy international Destiny Udogie registered an assist for Tottenham during their entertaining 4-1 win over West Ham United, alongside Guglielmo Vicario, while Caleb Okoli was the only Azzurri representative in the Premier League to pick up a win over the weekend.

Here is how the Italy internationals in the Premier League got on in the eighth round of fixtures.

Tottenham delight for Italy duo

Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie both started as usual in an entertaining 4-1 London derby victory for Tottenham against West Ham. The recently-capped Italy goalkeeper could not have done too much to prevent Mohammed Kudus on the cut-back in the first-half, but had relatively little to do from there.

Udogie had slightly more involvement in the game’s proceedings. He was criticised for some soft defending in the penalty area when Jarrod Boewn provided the assist for Kudus’s goal, but went on to have an encouraging game afterwards.

He registered an assist for Yves Bissouma not long into the second half, pouncing on a great pass from Son Heung-min, before cutting back for his teammate to slam home from the edge of the area.

Okoli and Leicester win

Caleb Okoli played the full 90 minutes at centre-back as Leicester City ended up 3-2 victors in a chaotic comeback against Southampton on Saturday. The Foxes fell behind after eight minutes, then conceded again 20 minutes later, but responded with three second-half goals, grabbing the last in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Okoli, who has been included in the last two Italy squads, was given an average rating of 5/10 by the English press, who praised his strength, but noted a tendency to let players slip past him against Southampton.

Word of advice for Calafiori

Riccardo Calafiori was part of the Arsenal side that lost 2-0 away to Bournemouth on Saturday. He and his teammates were reduced to 10 after William Saliba’s dismissal half an hour in, and are also in the midst of a minor injury crisis, without captain Martin Odegaard or England star Bukayo Saka.

It wasn’t the most exciting day-out for Calafiori, and outlets including Football London noted that he has a slight tendency to rush into tackles. He did a relatively sound job in his defensive duties for the hour after Arsenal were reduced to 10 men though.

Elsewhere in the Premier League this weekend, Italy’s Emerson Palmieri played the full 90 minutes during West Ham’s 4-1 loss away to Tottenham and Italy international Sandro Tonali started in a 1-0 loss to Brighton.

Neither Federico Chiesa nor Cesare Casadei were in the matchday squads as Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 at Anfield. Jorginho was an unused substitute in Arsenal’s loss to Bournemouth.

Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie and Daniel Maldini could start in Italy’s Nations League fixture against Israel as coach Luciano Spalletti is considering making some tweaks from their last match against Belgium.

The Azzurri still sit at the top of their group after the 2-2 draw against Domenico Tedesco’s outfit last Friday, and Spalletti is thinking of giving a chance to some of the youngest players included in his latest call-up, as Maldini could make his debut with the senior national team.

After coming on in the second half to replace Federico Dimarco, Tottenham winger Udogie could take the Inter‘s player place on the left in a game that could see Spalletti win his 10th game as Italy manager.

Udogie, Maldini and more: Spalletti’s possible changes in Italy starting line-up

Italy will host Israel at the Blue Energy Stadium in Udine on Monday, and Spalletti is considering rotating his squad significantly from their last Nations League match against Belgium, as Monza’s Daniel Maldini could debut in the Azzurri’s shirt and Udogie is set to replace Dimarco.

According to Milannews, the Italy coach could make changes in every department – 20-year-old Niccolò Pisilli, who was called up for the first time like Maldini and made his debut against Isreael, could start in midfield alongside Juventus‘ Nicolò Fagioli, while Napoli‘s Alessandro Buongiorno has chances to lead the defensive trio by replacing Alessandro Bastoni.

However, Spalletti will likely decide on the starting line-up shortly before the match, as Italy want to maintain their group leadership over France.

Riccardo Calafiori earned praise yet again after his display with Arsenal, but Italy international Destiny Udogie had ‘his roughest afternoon in English football’ as Tottenham fell to a 3-2 defeat away at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Here is how the Italy internationals in the Premier League got on this weekend.

Italy players in Premier League: Calafiori and Udogie contrasts

Calafiori started again at left-back for Arsenal during their 3-1 Premier League win over Southampton. The former Bologna centre-half came away with an average rating of 7/10 from the English press, and many feel he is quickly becoming a fan favourite at The Emirates.

The Italy international was praised for how he dealt with Southampton’s Tyler Dibling and Ross Stewart ‘doubling-up’ on him, and again received compliments for his ability to play the ball out from the back.

Jorginho also lined up as a starter in Arsenal 3-1 Southampton. He received a slightly lower score of 6/10, as some reports felt he was vulnerable when the opposition played on the counter-attack.

Destiny Udogie was heavily criticised after Tottenham’s 3-2 loss away to Brighton over the weekend. He was involved in all three of Brighton’s goals, while the Evening Standard dubbed his display as “his roughest afternoon in English football.”

Guglielmo Vicario also played as usual, but did not receive as much stick as his Italy colleague, as there was little that he could have done to prevent any of the Brighton goals.

Tonali, Emerson and Okoli

Sandro Tonali did not have the best game of his career when Newcastle played out a 0-0 draw with Everton: There were a few too many mis-placed passes on this occasion. He did win a penalty after being hauled down in the area by James Tarkowski, but Anthony Gordon was not able to convert the spot-kick.

Emerson Palmieri was also slightly sloppy for West Ham, despite picking up a 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town over the weekend.

Italy international Caleb Okoli had a nervous start in possession, but recovered well to help Leicester City keep a clean sheet in their 1-0 win over Bournemouth.

Federico Chiesa was not involved in the Liverpool squad after picking up a minor injury issue last week. Cesare Casadei was also left out of Enzo Maresca’s matchday squad for Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Destiny Udogie was ruled out of Tottenham’s Europa League game against Ferencvaros on Thursday, but Ange Postecoglou said the Italy international ‘will be okay’ in a Premier League match against Brighton on Sunday.

Udogie was not available for Tottenham’s away 2-1 win over Ferencvaros yesterday but is expected to recover for the upcoming Premier League match against Brighton.

Speaking at a press conference two days before the next league game, Spurs boss Postecoglou provided a brief injury update on the Italian left-back: “We think Destiny will be okay [for the next match],” the coach said as quoted by Football London.

Postecoglou provides Udogie injury update for Tottenham and Italy

“We have training today and tomorrow so he has to get through that.”

This means Udogie will likely be fit to play for Italy against Belgium and Israel during the October break.

La Gazzetta dello Sport provided the probable Azzurri squad for upcoming international games, including Udogie among Spalletti’s picks.

The 21-year-old made his senior Azzurri debut a year ago in a 4-0 victory over Malta and has five appearances with Italy’s national team.

He was introduced as a substitute in the most recent matches against Israel and France, providing an assist against Les Blues.

Italy international Guglielmo Vicario made an extraordinary reaction save for Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League against Ferencvaros, which had fans on their feet.

The game in Budapest saw pressure building on Spurs and Barnabas Varga had a goal ruled offside.

Moments later, Varga thought he had scored again with an effort from point-blank range, but the Italian had other ideas and made the remarkable stop.

The offside flag went up eventually here too, but it was further confirmation that while he may struggle when pressed to the limits of the rules on corners and free kicks, there are few better shot-stoppers in world football.

The statistics confirm this, as he has the highest shot-stopping grade (90.2) of every Premier League goalkeeper this season.

Vicario save in Ferencvaros-Tottenham

Italy international Guglielmo Vicario captained Tottenham for the first time in a 3-0 win over Qarabag FK last night: ‘I day I will never forget.’

Italian goalkeeper Vicario captained Tottenham for the first time on Thursday night, contributing to a 3-0 win over Qarabag FK in the first Europa League game of the season.

“A day that I will not forget. The first one as captain, leading this great club at home, in a European cup and, more importantly, getting the 3 points. Proud,” Vicario wrote on Instagram.

“This one is for those fans that are always by our side no matter what.”

Vicario, 27, has kept two clean sheets in six appearances across all competitions with Tottenham this season, conceding five goals.

A former Empoli and Cagliari goalkeeper, last night’s game also marked Vicario’s debut in a European competition.

The Italian goalkeeper has made two appearances with the Azzurri and recently spoke about the national team’s improvements in games against France and Israel.

Vicario suggested that both the team and coach Luciano Spalletti understood their errors after a disappointing EURO 2024 elimination, leading to back-to-back victories in Nations League games in September.

Vicario joined Tottenham from Empoli in a €18.5m deal in 2023, and his contract in North London runs out in June 2028.

Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario escaped without punishment after handling the ball outside his own area during Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday. Here’s why the former Empoli goalkeeper avoided a booking.

Mid-way through the second half of Tottenham’s victory over Brentford, Vicario came to claim a cross right on the edge of his penalty area. He managed to fumble the catch, and his momentum was carrying his body outside of the penalty area.

Vicario instinctively made a couple of touches with his hands in an attempt to recover from his error. For the first, the contact with the ball was made inside the area, though his feet were outside the box at the time.

The second and third touches of the ball, though, were clearly taken outside the box when slowed down on the replay.

Why Vicario avoided punishment for handball against Brentford

Referee John Brooks did not spot the offence in real-time, and decided to wave play on without rewarding a free-kick. In fact, Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer and Bess coach Thomas Frank were handed bookings for dissent instead.

Some supporters felt that Vicario should have been sent off due to the positioning of the incident, however, it did not deny a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity, so the decision not to send him off was correct.

The referee would have been within his rights to hit Vicario with a yellow card, but as he did not stop play at the time, and as the incident did not deny a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity, VAR did not feel the need to intervene.

For that reason, Vicario was allowed to continue as normal, without a booking on his record.