Italy's Best Young Footballers: The Talent Is There. The Minutes Are Not.

Italy has spent years arguing about whether its clubs trust young players, and the usual answer is that the talent is not there. This list says the opposite. The ten young Italians below include the Serie A defender of last season, a striker already scoring for his country and an eighteen-year-old defender Chelsea have agreed a reported £40m deal to sign in 2027. EA FC 27 rates them as high as 78. Between them, they have played 1,242 league minutes this season — fewer than three players would manage by starting every match. The talent is not the problem. The minutes are. (Figures as of 6 October 2026, the October international break.)

Ten Talents, One Shortage

Comuzzo has started all four of his Serie A matches for Torino and scored a header against Sassuolo on 29 August. Fiorentina loaned him across with an option to buy, which tells you both clubs believe he is ready; Torino have treated him that way, and on 5 October he played the full ninety for Italy's under-21s in a 6-2 win over Poland.

He is a defender's defender — 77 defending on a card that has no interest in anything else.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 75 (DEF 77, PHY 69) — built to defend and trusted to. Real-level: four starts from four, and a goal. Tier: Ready Now.

Esposito has two goals and an assist in five Serie A appearances, including the full ninety and a goal in a 5-3 win over Udinese on 14 September, and his backheel against Monza was voted Inter's goal of August and September. On international duty he scored against Turkey in the Nations League.

At a club with established strikers ahead of him, 291 minutes is the second-highest total on this page. That says as much about Italy as it does about Inter.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 77 (SHO 78, PHY 75) — a target man's card for a striker who scores with his feet. Real-level: goals for club and country by October. Tier: Elite-in-Waiting.

Milan signed Cissè from Hellas Verona in February and left him on loan at Catanzaro in Serie B for the rest of last season. This season he has started three of his four Serie A matches and scored twice, including against Juventus on 6 September, seven minutes after coming on. He turns twenty on 22 October.

He is the lowest-rated player on this page and has more league minutes than all but two of them. The card has not caught up; the coach has.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 66 (PAC 79, DRI 71) — a card from his Serie B season. Real-level: two Serie A goals for Milan at nineteen. Tier: Raw Gem.

Lipani has started two of Sassuolo's league matches and come off the bench in two more, 142 minutes in total. He is a regular for Italy's under-21s, playing the full match against Armenia on 1 October, which is a reminder of where his level is judged to be — and of how little club football is backing it up.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 69 (DRI 68, DEF 67) — a balanced midfielder's card. Real-level: an under-21 regular with a rotation role. Tier: Watchlist.

Bartesaghi played eighty-seven minutes in a 2-0 win over Venezia in August and started Milan's Europa League match against Benfica, but he has one league start in three appearances and 125 minutes. He can play left-back, wing-back or centre-back, which makes him useful to a coach and, so far, a substitute.

The game moved him from 62 to 74, one of the largest rises on this page.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 74 (PAC 78, PHY 76) — a modern wing-back's frame. Real-level: one Serie A start. Tier: Elite-in-Waiting.

Ahanor was born in Italy to Nigerian parents and could not represent Italy until he turned eighteen and received his passport; he chose Italy over Nigeria this year. On 1 September Chelsea agreed a deal reported at £40m to sign him from Atalanta in 2027, and Atalanta loaned him to Crystal Palace for this season. He started in the League Cup against Middlesbrough and played the full ninety in a Premier League defeat to Ipswich on 12 September.

The game lists him at Atalanta, and for now it is right.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 74 (DEF 76, PHY 67) — a centre-back's card at eighteen. Real-level: one Premier League start. Tier: Elite-in-Waiting.

Como signed Liberali permanently from Milan this summer and gave him a contract to 2031, then gave him twenty-five league minutes. He has looked better for Italy's under-21s, playing the whole of the 6-2 win over Poland on 5 October. An attacking midfielder who can play wide, he is exactly the kind of player Como buy to develop — and exactly the kind of player who sits.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 68 (PAC 76, DRI 73) — a quick, direct card. Real-level: twenty-five Serie A minutes. Tier: Raw Gem.

Inácio debuted for Dortmund at seventeen against Bayern Munich in February and scored his first Bundesliga goal against Eintracht Frankfurt in May; Dortmund extended his contract to 2029 and their sporting chief called him one of the greatest talents of his age group in the world. This season he has played three league minutes, and been sent off in them.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 70 (DRI 77, PAC 73) — a first card for a player still looking for a second chance. Real-level: a Bundesliga goal at eighteen, three minutes since. Tier: Raw Gem.

Leoni joined Liverpool from Parma and tore his anterior cruciate ligament more than a year ago. He stayed on Merseyside for the whole recovery, and he is now expected back in full training in the week of 12 October, with under-21 matches the likely route back to fitness. We had him among the best young centre-backs in the world before the injury.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 71 (DEF 72, PHY 68) — a card held while he was away. Real-level: a year without a competitive match. Tier: Watchlist.

Palestra is the reason this list exists. On loan at Cagliari last season he made thirty-seven Serie A appearances and was named the league's defender of the season; Italy gave him his senior debut in March. Chelsea paid Atalanta a reported £43m, rising to £47m, and he was due to debut at Fulham on 24 August — then injured his quadriceps preparing for the game. He has not played a competitive minute since, and Chelsea are managing his return. Update, 12 October: Palestra made his Chelsea debut on 10 October, eighteen minutes off the bench against Bournemouth.

The game read last season perfectly: 61 to 78, the biggest rise on this page and now the highest rating, built on 90 pace and 81 physical. The football has had eighteen minutes to agree.

Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 78 (PAC 90, PHY 81, DRI 80) — the best card here, debuted on 10 October. Real-level: Serie A's defender of the season, eighteen minutes off the bench against Bournemouth on 10 October. Tier: Ready Now.

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