Awaiting Napoli debut, Marianucci stars for Italy U21s | OneFootball

Luca Marianucci is one of Napoli’s summer signings. He arrived for around 10 million from Empoli, after making a few appearances with the first team last season. The defender, born in 2004, has yet to make his official debut for the Azzurri, but he was still called up by Silvio Baldini for the Italy Under-21 matches, proving decisive in the game against Macedonia.

Marianucci turns into a striker: his the winning goal against Macedonia

Last year, he impressed everyone with his defensive abilities, despite his limited appearances with Empoli’s first team. D’Aversa believed in him, gave him a chance, and was proven right. This summer, he was bought by Napoli for around 10 million, strengthening the central defensive lineup alongside Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Beukema, and Juan Jesus. Luca Marianucci could become one of the pillars of the future defense for both the National Team and Napoli. It’s not out of the question that the Azzurri might decide to loan him out in the future to give him the playing time he deserves, but for now, the club is counting heavily on the youngster.

His talent hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Italy Under-21 coach, Silvio Baldini, who called up Marianucci for the double fixture against Montenegro and Macedonia. Against the latter, starting under the former Pescara coach, the Napoli center-back was decisive, scoring the goal that effectively decided the match in the 34th minute.

The Azzurrini, down to 10 men from the 25th minute due to Moruzzi’s double yellow card and subsequent sending off, rarely found themselves in danger and secured their second consecutive win, despite being outnumbered.

Francesco Landi

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.