Nicolo Tresoldi Delays Italy Switch Amid Germany Interest
Nicolo Tresoldi is in no rush to choose his flag.
Despite reports in late August that the Club Brugge striker had committed his international future to Italy, several leading Italian outlets now say the decision is on ice. The 22-year-old has asked for time. No call-ups, for now. No final answer either.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport and La Repubblica, Tresoldi met new Italy coach Roberto Mancini and FIGC technical director Claudio Ranieri in recent days. At that meeting, he is said to have requested not to be included in the upcoming Nations League squad and asked the FIGC to pause his association switch with FIFA.
He wants to finish what he started with Germany’s Under-21s first. That is the message coming out of Italy.
A striker in demand
The hesitation comes at a moment when Tresoldi’s stock is rising fast.
At Club Brugge, he has started the season like a forward who knows exactly where his career is heading, even if the national team question remains open. Five goals in seven matches, including a sharp finish in Tuesday’s 3-2 Champions League defeat to Aston Villa, have pushed his name onto shortlists across Europe.
His first season in Belgium was already described as outstanding. This one is beginning to look like confirmation, not a surprise.
That form has not gone unnoticed by national selectors either. Multiple associations have monitored him, and the tug-of-war between Italy and Germany intensified when Gazzetta reported he had chosen the Azzurri. In Germany, Bild countered that he was still undecided. The latest developments back up the German version.
Between Cagliari, Hannover and Bruges
Tresoldi’s story is made for this kind of crossroads.
Born in Cagliari to an Italian father and Argentinian mother, he spent his early childhood in Italy before moving to Germany at 13. There, he came through the ranks at Hannover 96 and built his career in the German system.
The DFB moved early. Since Under-19 level, Tresoldi has worn Germany’s colours, scoring 12 goals in 24 games for the Under-21s. His current wish to complete the U21 cycle is not a token gesture; it fits the path he has taken so far.
In 2025, Club Brugge paid €7.5 million to bring him from Hannover to Belgium. It already looks like smart business.
Nagelsmann’s near-miss, Klopp’s looming call
Tresoldi’s rise almost carried him to the last World Cup.
Julian Nagelsmann, then Germany coach, later admitted the striker came close to a place on the plane. “He was really very close for a long time,” Nagelsmann said, describing Tresoldi as a player “who has that special instinct in the penalty area”. In the end, it was not quite enough. The coach, though, left no doubt: Tresoldi’s “time will come”.
That time could arrive sooner than expected — just not under Nagelsmann. After Germany’s disastrous World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, he stepped down. Jürgen Klopp took over and will name his first squad on 17 September.
Klopp has not yet commented publicly on Tresoldi. He does not need to. The numbers, the performances, the profile of a mobile penalty-box predator in form — they do the talking for him.
If Germany want to keep Tresoldi, the next few months feel crucial.
Italy rebuilding, Germany watching
Italy, meanwhile, are also in the middle of their own reset. Mancini has returned to the bench after the Azzurri once again failed to reach a World Cup finals. His first real tests back in charge come quickly: Belgium on 25 September, France on 2 October, and Turkey twice on 28 September and 5 October in the Nations League.
Those matches will go ahead without Tresoldi. By his own request.
So the race pauses, but it does not end. A dual-national striker in form, one association already in his past, another trying to pull him towards its future, and a new Germany era under Klopp about to begin.
At some point, Tresoldi will have to choose which anthem to stand under. The real question now is whether his next goal for Club Brugge nudges that decision one way or the other.
