Italy sign DFB talent Matteo Palma for Nations League

The German Football Association has lost another youth talent to another national team: 18‑year‑old Matteo Palma was nominated by coach Roberto Mancini for the Italian A national team. The nomination for the Nations League matches against France and Belgium marks the first step of the association switch.

The DFB has lost another talent to another nation. German youth international Matteo Palma was nominated for Italy's A national team. As the Squadra Azzurra announced on Saturday, coach Roberto Mancini has re‑nominated the defender from Udinese Calcio for the Nations League games against France and Belgium, to replace the injured centre‑back Gianluca Mancini of AS Roma, although the two are not related.

Through the nomination Palma has completed an association switch. For a debut the 18‑year‑old would still theoretically be eligible to play for the German national team, provided certain FIFA statutes are met. The rules allow a player to switch if he has played no more than three competitive or friendly matches, was not yet 21 at his last appearance, has not taken part in a World Cup or European Championship, his last appearance was three years or more ago, and he already holds the citizenship of the new association. Palma still meets these conditions.

Palma's Career and Current Role

The teenager was born in March 2008 in Berlin. Initially he played for the Italian youth system before being active for the German U‑16, U‑17 and U‑18 teams. Palma was developed at Hertha BSC and moved to Udinese in 2022. In the previous season he made occasional appearances for the first team, was loaned to the Serie B side Sampdoria Genoa for the second half of the campaign and is now a regular member of the professional squad. He is already a starter in Serie A.

After a muscle injury at the start of the season he developed into a starter and played the full 90 minutes in each of the last four Serie A matches. With only five points from eleven games Udinese currently sit at the bottom of the table. The club has also conceded 25 goals and possesses the second‑worst defence in the league.

Despite this situation Palma is regarded as one of the country's biggest talents. In September he left it open which national team he would play for in the future. He told transfer journalist Gianluca Di Marzio that he is in contact with both associations, but has not yet decided and does not consider the timing appropriate yet.

The decision comes faster than expected and represents another loss for the DFB after players such as Kenan Yildiz, Can Uzun, Paul Wanner and Ibrahim Maza. Jürgen Klopp called up Wael Mohya from Borussia Mönchengladbach for the upcoming camp, a highly gifted talent who would also be eligible to play for Morocco. Striker Nicolo Tresoldi could also play for Italy, but wants to decide for Germany only after his participation in the U‑21 European Championship next summer.

In the German centre‑back pool Jonathan Tah (FC Bayern Munich), Waldemar Anton and Nico Schlotterbeck (both Borussia Dortmund) as well as Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United) and Finn Jeltsch (VfB Stuttgart) are in contention for the matches against Serbia and the Netherlands. Yann‑Aurel Bisseck, a starter at Inter Milan, was surprisingly not included.