Five Names Who Could Score Goals for Luciano Spalletti’s Italy

It appears that Italy’s need for a genuine goalscorer is being met by Inter Milan midfielder Davide Frattesi. The 24-year-old former Sassuolo man scored twice in the recent UEFA Nations League victories against France and Israel, and is in fact the top goal scorer of the Luciano Spalletti era with six strikes.

Frattesi is hardly getting a kick at his club, but for his country he’s contributing in a massive way and is an automatic first-choice pick for Spalletti. The Azzurri’s two wins in the international break will undoubtedly give Spalletti a little bit of breathing space after the horror show at Euro 2024, but the need to find someone to get the goals for Italy on a regular basis could also give him restless nights.

After all, Frattesi can’t keep this scoring streak forever. 

Of the five goals Italy scored in the two recent games, only Moise Kean, who netted the winner against Israel, could be described as a traditional striker.

So who exactly will score the goals? Destination Calcio takes a look.

Moise Kean (Fiorentina)

The world is still waiting for the 24-year-old to explode. It feels like an eternity since Kean broke on to the scene with Juventus in the final few months of 2016/17 season and, despite being in a star-studded squad, the world did seem like his oyster at that stage.

Seven years on and things haven’t really worked out. Kean has bounced from Everton back to Juventus and now he’s moved to Fiorentina, with the hope of gaining the consistency needed to score goals. The 24-year-old has only reached double figures once in his career, in his loan spell at Paris Saint-Germain in 2020-21. His goal against Israel was his fifth for Italy, but his first for three years.

Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta)

Scamacca was in the form of his life for Atalanta in the spring, and he looked a sure bet to lead the line for the Azzurri at Euro 2024. He did, and the results weren’t good. Yet this can hardly be pinned all on Scamacca. Blessed with power, physicality and touch, Scamacca should be a guaranteed starter for Italy, but perceptions over his desire and work ethic remain an issue. The 25-year-old ruptured his ACL in pre-season for Atalanta, and is now out for the majority of the season, meaning he won’t get the chance to prove Spalletti should build his attack around him for the foreseeable future.

Mateo Retegui (Atalanta)

The forward signed by La Dea to cover for Scamacca after his injury, Retegui has so far managed to score goals for Atalanta, netting twice on his debut against Lecce. Still a somewhat unknown quantity, Retegui could still blossom into a real centre-forward in the coming months. At 25, he’s sure to get games under Spalletti to prove his worth in the October, November and March fixtures. The Argentine-born forward scored on his debut for Italy against England and has since scored a further three, but questions marks remains on whether he could realistically lead Italy going forward.

Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli)

‘Raspa’ has always been in and around the Italy squad since Spalletti took over, having worked under him during the title-winning season at Napoli in 2022-23. Raspadori has bagged seven goals for Italy and scored the third in the impressive 3-1 win against France on Friday night, but is more of a second striker, someone who plays just behind a true number nine. In many ways Raspadori is a man from a different era, the kind of player who works brilliantly in a front two but unfortunately plays in a time where teams no longer play with a pair in attack. He’ll always be an option for Spalletti, but the former Sassuolo man will never be a reliable source of goals.

Matteo Cancellieri (Parma, on loan from Lazio)

Spalletti does really have a dearth of options when it comes to a real centre forward, and this could see him look towards lesser known talents further down the league. Cancellieri already has a cap for the Azzurri, having come on with five minutes remaining against Germany in a June 2022 Nations League game. 

Now 22, Cancellieri is on loan at Parma this season from Lazio and should he begin to produce numbers for the Gialloblu and help them survive in Serie A after three years in Serie B, then Spalletti may just be willing to give him a go in the Azzurri setup. He’s already scored for his new side in the 2-1 win against AC Milan in the second game of the season. Left-footed and possessing a tall frame, Cancellieri has the potential to be the answer to Spalletti’s problems, but he’ll have to put together a good body of work at Parma before getting more game time than the five minutes he received on his debut.

Lorenzo Lucca (Udinese)

An outside bet of making future Spalletti squads, Lorenzo Lucca coud be a name to follow. Now in his second season at Udinese after impressing last season, the 24-year-old has featured for Italy’s U-21s but is yet to make the leap to the full squad.

Lucca scored eight goals in Serie A last season for Udinese, an impressive tally considering how poor the Friuli side were throughout the season and survived the drop by just two points. An aerial threat from crosses, the 6ft 8inch striker has already got off the mark this season, scoring in the win against Lazio with — you guessed it — a header from a marvellous cross by Florian Thauvin. 

If Lucca’s development continues this season and Spalletti struggles to get a tune out of some of his more regular strikers, then the 24-year-old could be given a chance in the March fixtures. Lucca would give Spalletti’s an extra dimension considering his height, something the Azzurri lack.