These are extraordinary days for Alessandro Romano. Cagliari’s 20-year-old midfielder received his first call-up to the Italian national team from Roberto Mancini on Thursday — and on Saturday 20 September, he could make his debut in the Nations League. A remarkable ascent for a player who just a few months ago was battling unsuccessfully to avoid relegation from Serie B with Spezia. Now Juventus, Inter, and Napoli are all watching him closely — and it is Carnevali’s bianconeri who appear most recently and most actively engaged.
From Spezia’s Relegation Struggle to Italy’s First-Team Squad
The trajectory defies rational expectation. Romano spent last season at Spezia in Serie B — relegated at the end of the campaign — before Cagliari moved decisively to sign him. The Sardinian club acquired him for just €5.9 million, with the obligation to purchase formally activating in February when Cagliari earn their first point of the current season. By that time, he will already be worth considerably more than three times what they paid.
The Swiss Football Federation had attempted everything to retain Romano — born in Switzerland and having completed the full Swiss youth pathway from Under-15 onwards — but the pull of Italy, and the directness of Roberto Mancini’s personal courtship, proved irresistible. Romano has chosen the Azzurri. The door to Swiss football is permanently closed.
Stolen from Roma — for €5.9 Million
The detail that will make Roma supporters wince most is the one Schira reveals without elaboration: Cagliari “stole” Romano from Roma, who had identified him and were pursuing him, at the most accessible price in the current market for a player of his profile. For a club that spent significantly more on midfielders this summer without finding the metronome Gasperini repeatedly requested, the Romano story carries a particular sting.
The Juventus Scout at Atalanta-Cagliari
The most operationally significant detail of the article concerns the Juventus scout who was present at Bergamo the previous Saturday — specifically to assess Romano as Cagliari faced Atalanta. The young midfielder responded to the scrutiny in the most convincing possible fashion, producing a performance that drove Cagliari’s victory on the field of one of Serie A’s most demanding opponents — winning the personal duel against the entire Atalanta midfield and emerging with the kind of positional intelligence and distribution quality that was impossible to miss.
The scout returned to Turin with a positive report. The Continassa will continue monitoring Romano in the coming months. Whether that monitoring translates into a formal approach in January or next summer will depend on several factors — not least the resolution of the midfield emergency created by Locatelli and Thuram’s simultaneous surgeries. But the interest is real, active, and entirely consistent with Carnevali’s stated ambition to rebuild Juventus around Italian talent wherever it can be found at accessible prices.
The Competitive Context — Inter and Napoli Also Watching
Juventus are not alone. Inter — managing the looming expiry of Çalhanoğlu and Mkhitaryan’s contracts — have been the first major club to scout Romano closely. Napoli, dealing with renewal complications around Anguissa, Lobotka, and McTominay, are also following his progress with genuine intent. The race for the best Italian midfield talent of his generation has already begun. On the evidence of Saturday’s performance at Bergamo, it is a race worth entering early.
