Adding A Bit Of Paloschi To Italy.

At the last World Cup in South Africa, the Italian national side was humiliated. Not only did the four-time World Cup winners go out at the first round, they finished bottom of a group involving Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand. With debates over an ageing side and a tendency not to pick players on form but upon reputation, Italy faltered on a stage where they regularly have thrived. So now, where do Italy go from here? How do they build towards a positive European campaign to restore their pride? I will look at one player, who may provide the answer.

Alberto Paloschi

Alberto may not have established himself yet, but this 21-year-old is certainly the future of Italian football. Currently co-owned by AC Milan and Genoa, Genoa being the team he currently plays for, Paloschi is slowly establishing himself as an exciting striking prospect. After previously spending 2 seasons on loan at Parma, scoring 12 goals to help them regain their Serie A status, Genoa payed around €7 million for Parma’s half of the contract. Since then, he has been a regular in the Genoa line-up, only scoring 2 goals but they were vital in their 4-3 victory over AS Roma. Quick, skillful and an eye for goal, Paloschi is your typical poacher finisher. When he finds a moment of space, he can punish teams with ease, case and point in one of his first appearances for AC Milan, scoring within 18 seconds of coming on. Whilst not having a full senior cap, he has represented the U-21’s 13 times, scoring 5 goals, and has been involved with all the youth sides.

Here is his first goal against AS Roma:

I think that Paloschi is the type of player that could be great for the Premier League, but also could end up as a disaster. Whilst the Italian game is one of the best in the world, it has a much slower pace than the Premier League, and can ruin some players who expect a little more time and space. Since he is co-owned with Milan, he probably will stay in Italy, like most Italian players, and slowly grow into the National side as well. I feel, for him, it would be best to stay in Serie A, and become a new force in AC Milan, if he can get the game time with Pato and Ibrahimovic there, and show exactly what a talent he is. But to be fair, he is Italian, so he has all the time in the world.