Football Italia

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.

Riccardo Calafiori was delighted with Arsenal’s win in the North London derby against Tottenham on Sunday and reacted with an Instagram story from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Italy international was unavailable due to an injury he had sustained while on international duty with Italy on Friday, September 6.

However, he still followed his teammates in a North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, celebrating their victory with an Instagram story.

Calafiori took a picture seconds before the end of stoppage time and made his feelings clear with three fire emojis.

Tottenham Hotspur had made an approach for Lecce full-back Patrick Dorgu, claims Fabrizio Romano, but he has since been transformed into a more attacking role.

Spurs weren’t the only big club to have set their sights on the versatile Dane, who turns 20 next month, as Juventus and Milan had also been heavily linked with a bid.

However, they were all scared off by the €30-35m asking price.

Dorgu ready to flourish at Lecce

Lecce were determined to keep hold of him and he is starting to show why, scoring on his senior international debut for Denmark.

Initially a left-back, the Salentini have been using him in a new, more advanced role so far this season, as part of an attacking trio supporting the centre-forward.

Dorgu joined the Serie A side’s youth academy from Nordsjaelland in 2022 and was purchased a year later for just €200,000.

His contract with the club runs to June 2027, though he is expected to negotiate an extension at improved personal terms.

Milan have confirmed that new signing Emerson Royal will wear the no. 22 shirt during his first season in San Siro, following the official announcement of his move from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

Emerson Royal joins Milan from Tottenham

The Brazilian finally made his move to Milan official on Monday evening, joining the Rossoneri in a deal reported to be worth €15m plus an extra €2m in additional bonuses.

The 25-year-old right-back has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the option for a further 12 months. He will reportedly earn around €3m per season in wages.

The former Barcelona and Real Betis defender is Milan’s third new signing of the summer, following the additions of Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid and Strahinja Pavlovic from RB Salzburg.

Emerson and his new teammates will get their first taste of Serie A action this season when the league season kicks off this weekend. Paulo Fonseca and his players are due to take on Torino at home on Saturday, kicking off at 19.45 BST.

Milan have officially confirmed the signing of right-back Emerson Royal on a permanent deal from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

Official: Milan sign Emerson from Tottenham

The 25-year-old arrives in San Siro on a permanent transfer at a reported cost of €15m, plus an extra €2m in performance-related add-ons, according to reports in Italy.

The former Barcelona and Real Betis full-back has agreed to a four-year contract with the option for an additional 12 months. He is set to receive around €3m in annual salary.

He becomes Milan’s third new signing of the summer, following the additions of former Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata and ex-RB Salzburg centre-back Strahinja Pavlovic.

Emerson is set to wear the no. 22 shirt during his first season under Paulo Fonseca.

Negotiations between Milan and Tottenham went on for months in the end, but the two clubs finally reached an agreement on fees and the structure of the deal last week. That is despite the fact that the Rossoneri had an agreement on personal terms with Emerson several weeks prior.

Emerson is a 10-time Brazil international, who made his debut for the Selecao in a 3-0 win over South Korea under Tite back in 2019.

He has 73 LaLiga appearances to his name from his two-and-a-half seasons on loan with Real Betis, plus a further three in the Spanish top flight from his brief time in Barcelona’s first team.

He has spent the last three seasons in the Premier League with Tottenham, where he made just over 100 appearances in all competitions.