National team
Matteo Palma called up by Italy to replace injured Mancini
Udinese defender Palma, who played for Germany at U18 level, has been cleared by FIFA to switch nations, Corriere dello Sport reports.
FootVal Newsroom
Italy coach Roberto Mancini has called up Udinese centre-back Matteo Palma, the 18-year-old's first senior call-up, to replace Gianluca Mancini. The AS Roma defender has a muscle strain and remains with his club, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports.
Palma previously represented Germany at Under-18 level. Corriere dello Sport reports that FIFA has approved his change of nationality, and La Gazzetta dello Sport says the Italian federation had been working on the move for several weeks.
Palma has made six appearances for Udinese this season and scored once. FootVal's valuation of €10.8m is above his market value of €8m on Transfermarkt.
Sources
This article is based on reports by:
- La Gazzetta dello Sport — Mancini allunga la lista: prima chiamata nell'Italia per Palma, è addio all'opzione Germania
- Corriere dello Sport — Continua la linea verde dell'Italia: Roberto Mancini convoca Palma dell'Udinese al posto di Gianluca Mancini
- Football Italia — Palma gets first Italy call after representing Germany at U18 level
- TuttoMercatoWeb — Italia, prima convocazione azzurra per Matteo Palma: sostituirà l'infortunato Gianluca Mancini
Written by the FootVal newsroom from the reports below, with figures from FootVal’s own database. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. · How we report
