Atalanta starlet Giorgio Scalvini has opened the door to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City by admitting that he would ‘like to play’ in the Premier League, speaking to Corriere dello Sport.
With Papu Gomez, Josip Ilicic and Ruslan Malinovskyi gone – and with Duvan Zapata no longer the force of old – it felt like the end of an era for La Dea when Gian Piero Gasperini’s famously free-wheeling side finished a distant eighth in Serie A last season.
So it is testament not only to Atalanta’s superb recruitment but also their expert youth development that the beasts of Bergamo are roaring back to life; just six points off second-place and in contention for a Champions League spot.
Rasmus Hojlund and Ademola Lookman have taken on the Zapata and Gomez mantle. And in 19-year-old Scalvini, Atalanta possess arguably the most exciting young Italian of his generation.
Giorgio Scalvini a target for Liverpool, Tottenham and Man City
Scalvini made his debut in 2021 and came of age with a long-range rocket in a 1-0 win at Roma. The teenager’s rapid rise is made even more impressive when you consider that, despite being a centre-half by trade, Scalvini has slotted into a new-look midfield role with dazzling results under Gasperini at times.
“I have always felt like more of a defender. That is the position I have played in for the longest time,” explains Scalvini. “But the truth is that I feel good in both positions, and play where the coach tells me.
“My idol has always been Thiago Silva. Then, I have always been compared with (Inter Milan’s Alessandro) Bastoni. I am inspired by him.”
Atalanta have made over £100 million by selling players to Premier League clubs in recent windows; Cristian Romero, Amad Diallo, Remo Freuler and Dejan Kulusevski, for instance. The likes of Liverpool, Man City, Man United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur have now taken note of Scalvini’s supposedly ‘generational’ talent (Corriere dello Sera and Gazzetta dello Sport).
The three-time Italy international is in no rush to leave. But he would relish following in Romero’s footsteps at some point down the line.
‘I’d like to play in the Premier League’
“For me, (the Premier League) is the best league there is, for intensity,” the £35 million-rated Scalvini says. “In my career – I don’t know when – I’d like to play in it.”
Scalvini, who doesn’t even turn 20 until December, has started 15 Serie A games this season.
“He is a player of enormous flexibility and maturity,” former Atalanta coach Bortolo Mutti tells TMW.
“He is intelligent and technical, with quality and great physicality. Soon we will see him more and more as a protagonist in the national team. These guys are the future of Italy.”
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