Klopp battles Italy for Italy‑born striker Nicolò Tresoldi
In the quiet of the DFB headquarters, Jürgen Klopp pores over a list of names, his eyes lingering on a young striker who has been scoring like an assembly line in Belgium. The national team manager will reveal his first Germany squad on Thursday, and the decision could hinge on the 22‑year‑old’s dual nationality.
Tresoldi's club form fuels speculation
Since leaving Hannover 96 in the summer of 2025, Nicolò Tresoldi has become a key figure at Club Brugge. In his first season he helped the side clinch the league title and finished as the top scorer with nineteen goals. The former national team manager Julian Nagelsmann had once listed him as a potential World Cup player, although he ultimately missed the tournament squad.
Dual nationality sparks a tug‑of‑war
Born in Italy, Tresoldi moved to Hannover at the age of thirteen and became a German citizen at eighteen, while retaining his Italian passport. This gives both the German nation and Italy the right to call him up. Italy’s coach Roberto Mancini has been courting the striker for months, and a report in late August claimed he had chosen the Azzurri.
The German press quickly disputed that claim, insisting no final decision had been taken. Antonio Di Salvo, coach of the Germany under‑21 team, currently has Tresoldi in his squad as the side prepares for the under‑21 European Championship in Albania and Serbia.
German media predict three-way points race in Nations League group
Klopp’s rebuilding of the national team has created intense competition for places. The tension surrounding the selection process has reached its peak this week, with a long list of potential candidates being discussed since his press conference in July, where he said he had watched fifty‑seven players.
The upcoming selection will cover four Nations League matches at the end of September and the start of October, against the Netherlands, Serbia and Greece twice. The Thursday announcement will therefore set the tone for the next phase of the national team’s development.
For the DFB, securing Tresoldi would be a signal that the new coach can retain promising talent despite Italy’s overtures. Yet the risk remains that the striker could ultimately opt for another nation, with even Argentina mentioned as a theoretical alternative because of his mother’s heritage.