Nicolo Tresoldi Delays Italy Switch as Germany Opportunity Awaits
Nicolo Tresoldi is not ready to choose. Not yet.
Several Italian outlets report that the Club Brugge striker has put the brakes on an international switch to Italy, despite weeks of noise suggesting the decision was already made. After talks with new Italy coach Roberto Mancini and technical director Claudio Ranieri at the FIGC headquarters, the 22-year-old is said to have asked for more time and requested not to be called up for the upcoming Nations League games.
For now, he wants to finish what he started with Germany’s Under-21s. That stance has led the FIGC to freeze his requested association change with FIFA, according to Gazzetta dello Sport and La Repubblica. The process is on ice. The tug of war is very much alive.
Rising star, rising pressure
Tresoldi is making this complicated for everyone by playing too well.
At Club Brugge, the right-footer is in form and in demand. His performances have fuelled transfer rumours and stirred interest from multiple national associations. The noise grew louder at the end of August when Gazzetta reported he had chosen Italy. In Germany, Bild countered that he remained undecided.
On the pitch, the numbers back up the hype. Tresoldi has already scored five times in seven matches this season. On Tuesday, he struck again in Brugge’s 3-2 Champions League defeat to Aston Villa, another reminder that he is no longer just a prospect but a striker opponents have to game-plan for.
Since the Under-19s, he has worn Germany’s colours at youth level. For the Under-21s, he has 12 goals in 24 appearances – a return that explains why both federations are pushing hard.
A life split between three flags
Tresoldi’s story does not lend itself to easy answers.
Born in Cagliari to an Italian father and an Argentinian mother, he spent his early childhood in Italy before moving to Germany at 13. He came through the academy at Hannover 96, then in 2025 made the jump to Club Brugge for €7.5 million.
Three cultures, three potential national teams, one career-defining call.
The one that got away from Nagelsmann
Germany already came close to fast-tracking him.
After a standout first season in Brugge, Tresoldi was a serious contender for Julian Nagelsmann’s World Cup squad. The former Germany coach later admitted just how near he came to boarding the plane, saying Tresoldi was “really very close for a long time” and calling him a player “who has that special instinct in the penalty area”.
It still wasn’t quite enough. Nagelsmann left him out, but added that Tresoldi’s “time will come”. That time might be arriving now – only under a different man.
Nagelsmann stepped down after Germany’s disastrous World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Jürgen Klopp is now in charge and will name his first squad on 17 September. He has not yet gone public with his thoughts on Tresoldi, but the opportunity for a clean start with the senior team is obvious.
Italy rebuilds, Germany waits
Italy are rebuilding too. Mancini is back in the dugout after the Azzurri missed another World Cup finals, and his first squads of this new cycle will set the tone for a long-term reset.
In the upcoming international break, Italy face Belgium on 25 September, France on 2 October and Turkey twice on 28 September and 5 October in the Nations League. Tresoldi will not be there. By choice.
So the race continues. Italy have made their pitch. Germany can now answer under Klopp. Tresoldi, caught between birthplace, upbringing and heritage, keeps scoring while the two giants circle.
At some point, one of them will call and he will finally say yes. The only question is which anthem he will be singing when that day comes.
