Premiership to Miss Out Again - Saturday, 10 May 2008

The last decade saw a number of successful Italian players testing themselves in the Premiership: the likes of Gianfranco Zola, Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravenelli, Paolo Di Canio and Benito Carbone to name but a few. But has England become less of an attraction for Italian players? Many prefer to ply their trade in Serie A, significantly enhancing their chances of getting into the national team.

But the last couple of years has seen Zambrotta, Rossi, Cannavaro and Cassano play in Spain, and Luca Toni move to Germany. This trend seems to be continuing this summer, as World Cup winning centre-back Cristian Zaccardo will probably be leaving Palermo (the deal is not finalised according to Palermo Chief Executive Rino Foschi), moving to VFL Wolfsburg for around £5 million.

The Premiership will certainly be missing out if Gennaro Gattuso leaves the San Siro to team up with his Azzurri team-mate Toni in Munich. Reports in Germany and Italy are suggesting that Gattuso wants a challenge, having won all there is to win with Milan. He speaks English, as he has a Scottish wife from his time at Rangers, and is well-suited to the faster pace and more physical game in England, so it would be a shame if we miss out on watching him.

Manchester United have good cover in his defensive midfield position, as do Chelsea, and Arsenal may not pose the same attraction as Bayern. Therefore, the Budesliga is the most likely destination for the Calabrian. The signing of Flamini from Arsenal could provide the long-term replacement, and a deal including wing-back Willy Sagnol and £12 million could be too tempting for Galliani and co. to turn down.

In terms of the future of the English game, let's hope we can still attract the big names into the next few seasons, and maybe even some of the big name Italians. Serie A is increasing both in quality and pulling-power, and so is the Bundesliga. If La Liga and the Premiership can keep the quality levels so high, we will at least have some fantastic European competitions in the years to come.

Tim D