Roberto Mancini picked 33 players in his provisional Euro 2020 squad but there was no place for one of the finest centre-halves in Italian football.
In almost any other year, it would have been a criminal offence to suggest AC Milan’s captain didn’t deserve a place in the Azzurri roster.
And while Alessio Romagnoli is no Paolo Maldini or Franco Baresi – it has been a tough couple of months for the Rossoneri skipper after all – his omission has raised plenty of eyebrows in Italy.
Especially given Francesco Acerbi, the 33-year-old veteran made to look 63 by Edin Dzeko in Lazio’s derby defeat to Roma at the weekend, has been chosen in his place.
However, if there’s a silver lining for Romagnoli, at least an extended summer break will give him more time to make a decision on his future at club level.
The former Roma youngster is out of contract in 2022 and, with super-agent Mino Raiola’s demands for a £100,000-a-week pay packet going down as well as a red-and-black scarf in the Curva Nord, AC Milan will consider cashing in if they receive an offer in the region of £17 million.
In March, Il Milanista reported Everton had emerged as one of the most likely destinations for a player Carlo Ancelotti has admired for some time.
But after being ripped to shreds by Romelu Lukaku and losing his place to Fikayo Tomori at the San Siro, Romagnoli’s shock omission from Italy’s Euro roster sums up how quickly things have gone wrong for a defender yet to realise his vast potential.
Here’s how some Milan fans reacted on Twitter to Romagnoli’s omission:
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