Milan eyeing Italy U20 international who is learning under Nesta

Centre-back Alessandro Marcandalli is currently undergoing an apprenticeship of sorts under the watchful eye of Alessandro Nesta at Reggiana, and AC Mialn are watching him closely.

La Gazzetta dello Sport begin their report with a brief background on Marcandalli. He is 21 years old, has Italian-Nigerian origins and was born in Bergamo, where he started playing in Atalanta’s youth academy.

As a child he started as a winger, then became a full-back and today he is a 1.90m tall central defender, capable of leading the department with confidence. He had a spell Serie C, with Giana Erminio and Pontedera, spending important months in between with the Genoa Primavera, a club to which he is linked until 2026 and which in the summer decided to send him to grow in Serie B.

Nesta is one of the best centre-backs to ever play the game so there is arguably nobody better to learn and grow with, while the Reggiani boss praised him after their Coppa Italia defeat to Genoa.

“Today he came to his house. I’m the coach and I support him, but I have enough seen in my life and I say that he is a beautiful thoroughbred horse,” he said.

“He is a boy of eleven, with an infinite education, good and silent. He has an acceleration like few others and when they throw it at him, he always gets there.

“He must keep his feet on the ground, the road is long. Many show up and then get lost. I don’t think it can happen, but he must not be in a hurry. If he continues like this, the that’s the future.”

Marcandalli has made 12 appearances (11 as a starter) in the league and three in the Coppa Italia which led to Alberto Bollini’s call-up to the Italy U20 squad, with whom he made his debut on Tuesday in the 2-1 win over Portugal in the Elite League.

After being on the bench against England, the centre-back played the full 90 minutes at the Mapei Football Center in Sassuolo, a stone’s throw from Reggio Emilia.

Marcandalli is one of the profiles that ended up on Milan’s list of targets, but not only them. The Rossoneri are looking for a central defender to fill out a department that is struggling with some injuries.

He is also Italian, a factor not to be underestimated when it comes to the squad list. The report compares him to Malick Thiaw: tall, slender and with big potential. In short, the type of signing that the owners have become accustomed to in recent years